The 12 large nearby
‘Council of Giants’ galaxies are Cen A, NGC4945, M83, M64, M94, M81, M82, IC342, Maffei 1 & 2, NGC253 and Circinus.
I have seen 9 of these.
I have not seen IC342 and Maffei 1 & 2.
William Denning found IC342 in 1892 with a 10" reflector from Bristol, UK.
http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/n...ns/denning.htm
Maffei 1 & 2 were
named after
Paolo Maffei, who discovered them in 1967 via their
infrared emissions.
Their wikisky org images are attached.
Page 23 of this document describes the discovery of Maffei 1 and 2.
http://sait.oat.ts.astro.it/MSAIt740...vol74n1p19.pdf
This link shows
Two Micron All Sky Survey images of Maffei 1 & 2
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/2mass/ga.../enlarged.html
Circinus is a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way galaxy, located near the direction of the pointers to the southern cross constellation but 12 million light years away. The galaxy was discovered only in 1977 when Professor Ken Freeman at Mt Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatory noticed a smudge on a photographic plate.
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/19...lactic-mystery
http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/abs/1977A%26A....55..445F