In 1968 astronomer Paolo Maffei photographed a region in the constellation Cassiopeia using film that was sensitive to infrared radiation. His photo showed two bright sources that did not appear to match any known objects in the area. But Maffei was not able to determine their nature. The mysterious sources of infrared light, which came to be known as Maffei 1 and 2, became the subjects of close scrutiny over the next few years. From optical, infrared, and radio observations, it was deduced that both were galaxies. Maffei 1 was elliptical, and Maffei 2 was spiral.
At first, Maffei 1 was thought to be close to the Milky Way, a mere 3 million light years away. At this distance, it would have been on the boundary of our Local Group.
