#fireworks galaxy

[8infinite-space8]

NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy). Distance: 25.2 ± 1.0 Mly.

[colorpicked-pride-flags-jwst]

Transmasc flag colorpicked from dusty supernovae in the Fireworks Galaxy

[wigmund]

From Astronomy Picture of the Day; July 4, 2025:

NGC 6946 and NGC 6939 Alberto Pisabarro

Face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 and open star cluster NGC 6939 share this cosmic snapshot, composed with over 68 hours of image data captured with a small telescope on planet Earth. The field of view spans spans about 1 degree or 2 full moons on the sky toward the northern constellation Cepheus. Seen through faint interstellar dust clouds near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, the stars of open cluster NGC 6939 are 5,600 light-years in the distance, near bottom right in the frame. Face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is at top left, but lies some 22 million light-years away. In the last 100 years, 10 supernovae have been discovered in NGC 6946, the latest one seen in 2017. By comparison, the average rate of supernovae in our Milky Way is about 1 every 100 years or so. Of course, NGC 6946 is also known as The Fireworks Galaxy.

[theofficialastronomy101]

NGC6946 Fireworks Galaxy at 2800mp

Remember to click on photo to view full quality, have fun zooming in and out!

[of-stars-and-dust]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2005 January 25

NGC 6946: The Fireworks Galaxy

Credit & Copyright: T. Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage), Gemini Obs., AURA

Why is this galaxy so active? Nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is undergoing a tremendous burst of star formation with no obvious cause. In many cases spirals light up when interacting with another galaxy, but NGC 6946 appears relatively isolated in space. Located just 10 million light years away toward the constellation of Cepheus, this beautiful face-on spiral spans about 20,000 light years and is seen through a field of foreground stars from our Milky Way Galaxy. The center of NGC 6946 is home to a nuclear starburst itself, and picturesque dark dust is seen lacing the disk along with bright blue stars, red emission nebulas, fast moving gas clouds, and unusually frequent supernovas. The 8-meter Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, USA, took the above image. A suggested explanation for the high star formation rate is the recent accretion of many primordial low-mass neutral hydrogen clouds from the surrounding region.

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)

NASA Official: Jay Norris.

A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC

& Michigan Tech. U.

[astronomypolls]

Fireworks Galaxy vs Arp-Madore 2339-661

Fireworks Galaxy

Arp-Madore 2339-661

Voting ended onNov 14, 2023

[spacewonder19]

NGC 6946 Fireworks Galaxy

[chibinotan]

Starburst Fireworks