201409_OkieTex -- ic2574_1a.jpg

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IC 2574 discovered by Edwin Coddington in 1898 and classified first as a nebula is actually a dwarf irregular galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major and is part of the M81 group of galaxies. There are two spiral arms, nearly invisible in this image which better shows its core, that with a longer exposure would help show the distortion of the galaxy from a classic spiral shape. This is one of the images that suffered from the strong winds at the Okie-Tex star party in 2014, evidenced by the elongation of stars even after throwing out the worst of the collected frames.