Maffei 2 SAB(s)bc
KPNO 0.6/0.9-m Burrell-Schmidt
R. Buta, M. L. McCall
I-band, 1800s, 2.028 arcsec/pix
16.0-26.0
bar torque class: 3

Description - Maffei 2 is a member of the nearby IC 342/Maffei Galaxy Group (Buta and McCall 1999). Because of its low Galactic latitude, it is so heavily obscured in blue light (A_B $\approx$ 6 mag) that it cannot be classified in blue light. The image we show here (Buta and McCall 1999) is in the I-band (effective wavelength 0.8$\mu$m), and is the closest we can come to illustrating Maffei 2 in the optical. The large number of foreground stars covering the galaxy makes it difficult to study its structure, and we also show an image cleaned of all such stars. This image reveals a fairly weak-looking bar and favors the classification SAB. There may be a slight trace of an inner ring, but the high inclination makes its identification doubtful. The image shows that the inner parts of Maffei 2 suffer considerable asymmetry with at least four distinct spiral arms.

Near-Infrared Morphology - Maffei 2 has been imaged as part of the 2MASS project. In the K-band image below, the galaxy is clearly a barred spiral of de Vaucouleurs type SB(s)b. The bar torque class of 3 is based on this image. The bar is asymmetric, as noted by Hurt et al. (1993).

Interpretation - Maffei 2 lies only 40$^{\prime}$ east of Maffei 1 on the sky, and an interaction between the two galaxies could be at the heart of its asymmetry. Hurt et al. (1993) has suggested that the puff of material on the northeast side of the bar is a small companion, rather than part of a spiral arm.

Maffei 2 in the $I$-band, with foreground stars Maffei 2 in the $I$-band, cleaned of foreground stars 2MASS color image of Maffei 2 in the $K$-band