Irregular galaxy in Canes Venatici
This is a nice bright example of an irregular dwarf galaxy. Its length is about 20,000 light years, which is about 1/5 the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Canes Venatici I galaxy group, which also includes nearby Messier 94 and NGC 4244.
At about magnitude 9, NGC 4449 is one of our brighter galactic neighbors, visible with even a small telescope. It has a bright bar-shaped central region and many smaller bright knots in the periphery, especially to the north. Outside the galaxy's roughly rectangular shape, in this image you may be able to detect a very dim oval halo that more than doubles its size. This halo shows up much more clearly in longer exposures.
| Magnitude | 9.1 |
| Apparent Size | 4.7' x 2.8' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 14 million |
| Right Ascension | 12:28.2 |
| Declination | +44 06 |
| Field of View | 32' x 24' |
Image details: Exposure times of 33 minutes each of luminance, red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG STF-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/5.5.
March 2021