Mirach's Ghost
NGC 404, or Mirach's ghost, is a very faint galaxy that is seen along the line of sight of the bright star, Mirach. Mirach is also known as Beta Andromedae. It is a giant red star located about 200 light years away. While it is cooler than the sun, it is still much larger and much brighter! The galaxy is called Mirach's ghost because when looking at it through most telescopic views, it appears to be a ghostly internal reflection of the overwhelmingly bright star. There is a lot of glare and diffraction which makes Mirach's Ghost hard to see. It is amazing that we are even able to see this galaxy at all since it is located over 10 million light years away!!
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