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IC 1613 is an irregular galaxy belonging to the Local Group. Located at about 2.4 Mly in the constellation Cetus, this galaxy has been thoroughly studied as well as compared with the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two Milky Way satellites. This galaxy has a mass of 100 million solar masses (about 5,000 times less than the Milky Way) and, it presents many peculiarities. This galaxy has many massive, young O and B stars, which can be seen spread all across the galaxy. It also has, according to Yi Ren et al. (2021), a high number, of red supergiant stars (RSGs), 115, distributed, mainly along the thicker belt of stars across its center. It also has (only) one identified Wolf-Rayet star (and one candidate). Another curiosity is SNR S8, a supernova remnant about 3600 years old that is very bright and can be seen in this image (see annotated image below). This remnant has crescent shape (size 3×2 arcsec) and unusual emission patterns (it emits X-ray, visible and radio, as well as low ionization gases).
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): IC 1613
Type: Irregular Galaxy
RA: 01h 04m 48s
Dec: +02º 07’ 04”
Constellation: Cetus
Size (arcmin): 16×14 arcmin
Magnitude: +9.9
Distance: 2.34 Mly
Image
Date: 2021-12-17 to 2022-09-24
Location: Curiosity2 Observatory, New Mexico Skies, Mayhill, NM, USA
Size (arcmin): 29×26 arcmin
Telescope: 24” (61 cm) f/6.5 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 31h 15m (L: 6h; Ha: 14h; RGB: 11h 15m)
Processing: CCDStack, PixInsight (one step) and Photoshop CC 2023