NGC 2403

NGC 2403 is the name of a spiral galaxy in the constellation giraffe from the Hubble type Sc. NGC 2403 has an angular extent of 23.4 ' x 12.3 ' and an apparent magnitude of 8.2 mag. This is one of this galaxy, which can be easily seen in a good pair of binoculars, one of the brightest galaxies in the northern sky, which were not included in the Messier catalog.

NGC 2403 was discovered on November 1, 1788 by the German - British astronomer William Herschel.

The galaxy is a member of the so-called M81 group of galaxies and is about 12 million light- years away. In 2004, the supernova 2004dj erupted in this galaxy. In 2002 already, SN 2002kg and was previously observed SN 1954J in NGC 2403.

Infrared image of NGC 2403 from the Spitzer Space Telescope