IC 10

IC 10 is an irregular galaxy approaching the Milky Way at approximately 350 km/s, a member in the Local Group.

The apparent distance between IC 10 and the Andromeda Galaxy is about the same as the apparent distance between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy, which suggests that IC 10 may belong to the M31 subgroup.

IC 10 is the only known starburst galaxy in the Local Group of galaxies. It has many more type WR stars per square kiloparsec (5.1 stars/kpc²) than the Large Magellanic Cloud (2.0 stars/kpc²) or the Small Magellanic Cloud (0.9 stars/kpc²). Although the galaxy has a luminosity similar to the SMC, it is considerably smaller. Its higher metallicity compared to the SMC suggests that star formation activity has continued for a longer time period. The evolutionary status of the WR stars suggests that they all formed in a relatively short timespan. The ratio between the two subtypes of WR stars (WC stars and WN stars) in IC 10 is very different from the ratio in other galaxies in the Local Group, which may be somehow due to the starburst nature of the galaxy. Currently the galaxy produces stars at a rate that means the gas supply in the galaxy can last for only a few billion years longer.

Observations of IC 10 in the far-infrared show that the dust in this mild starburst galaxy is deficient in small grains. It is hypothesized that any small grains that formerly existed were destroyed by strong ultraviolet radiation in the areas around the hot luminous stars that were formed in the galaxy's recent burst of star formation.

The galaxy has a huge envelope of hydrogen gas. IC 10 is also unusual in the respect that the visible part of the galaxy seems to rotate in a different direction than the outer envelope. It has a H II nucleus.