APOD: 2026 February 19 - IC 2574: Coddington s Nebula

Good evening, Rallypoint, and welcome to the February 19, 2026 edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).

IC 2574 (aka Coddington's Nebula) was discovered by American astronomer Edwin Coddington in 1898. Astronomers classify IC 2574 as a dwarf irregular galaxy due to its relatively small size and apparent lack of structure. Dwarf galaxies are thought to resemble some of the earliest that formed in the Universe.

Coddington's Nebula exhibits intense star formation, particularly in the pink ionized hydrogen regions seen here. A photometric study (where luminance across the entire electromagnetic spectrum is measured) of IC 2574 found that 90% of its mass is composed of dark matter: a form of matter that does not interact with any form of electromagnetic radiation. Its presence (dark matter) can only be suggested by observed gravitational effects. As with many things, there is often more there than meets the eye.