Maffei I and II galaxies Credit: neoWISE/Giuseppe Donatiello J2000 02h 41m 55.1s +59° 36′ 15″ (Maffei II) The Maffei Group (or IC 342 Group) is the nearest group of galaxies to the Local Group. The group can be described as a binary group; the member galaxies are mostly concentrated around either IC 342 or Maffei 1, both of which are the brightest galaxies within the group. As seen from Earth, the group lies near the plane of the Milky Way (a region sometimes called the Zone of Avoidance). Consequently, the light from many of the galaxies is severely affected by dust obscuration within the Milky Way. Maffei 1 is a giant elliptical galaxy and Maffei 2 is an intermediate spiral galaxy at about 10 million light-years in Cassiopeia.