Maffei 1

Maffei 1 is a large, elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is one of the closest giant elliptical galaxies to the Milky Way, although its proximity is obscured by its location in the Zone of Avoidance, a region of the sky heavily obscured by dust and gas within our own galaxy. This obscuration makes it difficult to study Maffei 1 at visible wavelengths, requiring observations in infrared, radio, and X-ray wavelengths.

Maffei 1 is the dominant member of the Maffei Group, a nearby group of galaxies. It is estimated to be around 10 million light-years away. Its size is comparable to that of the Milky Way's satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, although Maffei 1 is significantly more massive.

The galaxy was discovered in 1968 by Italian astronomer Paolo Maffei, along with Maffei 2, while examining infrared plates. It is thought to contain a supermassive black hole at its center. Due to the obscuration, the precise details of its stellar population, star formation history, and dark matter content are still subject to ongoing research.