Tangled Galaxy

Lanes of warm dust swirl around the center of the spiral galaxy IC 342 in this infrared view from Spitzer Space Telescope. The galaxy is difficult to view in visible light because it is on the opposite side of the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, so it is hidden behind clouds of gas and dust. Infrared light penetrates the dust, however, providing a detailed look at the galaxy. Many new stars are being born in the galaxy's bright center, as a "bar" of dust feeds new material into the galactic core. IC 342 is about 11 million light-years away, in the northern constellation Camelopardalis, the giraffe.