An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → dwarf irregular galaxy (also called Caldwell 51) located in the constellation → Cetus. IC 1613 is a member of the → Local Group of galaxies and has a → morphological classification of IBm (Irregular Barred, → Magellanic type galaxy). IC 1613 has a very → low surface brightness and a very low → dust content. It lies just over 2.38 &plusmn 0.07 million → light-years
away from us. IC 1613’s distance is known to a remarkably high precision, partly due to the unusually low levels of dust lying both within the galaxy and along the line of sight from the → Milky Way. Moreover, the galaxy hosts a number of → Cepheid variables and → RR Lyrae variables which can be used to precisely determine distances. It was discovered by Max Wolf in 1906.

See also: IC, short for → Index Catalogue.