Editing IC 342/Maffei Group (section)

==Foreground dust obscuration==

As seen from Earth, the group lies near the plane of the [[Milky Way]] (a region sometimes called the [[Zone of Avoidance]]).  Consequently, the light from many of the galaxies is severely affected by dust obscuration within the [[Milky Way]].  This complicates observational studies of the group, as uncertainties in the dust obscuration also affect measurements of the galaxies' [[luminosity|luminosities]] and distances as well as other related quantities.<ref name="karachentsev2005" /><ref name="butamccall1999">{{cite journal
  |author1=R. J. Buta |author2=M. L. McCall | title=The IC 342/Maffei Group Revealed
  | journal=Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
  | date=1999
  | volume=124
  | issue= 1
  | pages=33–93
  | bibcode=1999ApJS..124...33B | doi = 10.1086/313255
| doi-access=free
  }}</ref>

Moreover, the galaxies within the group have historically been difficult to identify.  Many galaxies have only been discovered using late 20th century astronomical instrumentation.  For example, [[Maffei 1]] and [[Maffei 2]] were only discovered in 1968 using [[infrared]] photographic images of the region.<ref name="maffei1968">{{cite journal
  | author= P. Maffei
  | title=Infrared Object in the Region of IC 1895
  | journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
  | date=1968
  | volume=80
  | issue=476
  | pages=618–621
  | bibcode=1968PASP...80..618M | doi = 10.1086/128698
| doi-access=free
  }}</ref>  Furthermore, it is difficult to determine whether some objects near IC 342 or Maffei 1 are galaxies associated with the IC 342/Maffei Group or diffuse foreground objects within the Milky Way that merely look like galaxies.  For example, the objects [[MB 2]] and [[Camelopardalis C]] were once thought to be dwarf galaxies in the IC 342/Maffei Group but are now known to be objects within the [[Milky Way]].<ref name="karachentsevetal2003">{{cite journal
  |author1=I. D. Karachentsev |author2=M. E. Sharina |author3=A. E. Dolphin |author4=E. K. Grebel | title=Distances to nearby galaxies around IC 342
  | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics
  | date=2003
  | volume=408
  | issue= 1
  | pages=111–118
  | bibcode=2003A&A...408..111K | doi = 10.1051/0004-6361:20030912
| doi-access=free}}</ref>