Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  NGC 6946
NGC6946 "The Fireworks" Galaxy, Pablo Lewin
NGC6946 "The Fireworks" Galaxy
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NGC6946 "The Fireworks" Galaxy

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Description

NGC 6946 "Fireworks Galaxy." is a medium-sized, face-on spiral galaxy about 22 million light years away from Earth (SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS THE GALAXY AS IT LOOKED 22 MILLION YEARS AGO AND THE LIGHT JUST NOW REACHED EARTH AND MY LITTLE TELESCOPE.) in the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. In the past century, eight supernovas (Exploding suns) have been observed to explode in the arms of this galaxy. Chandra Observatory observations have, in fact, revealed three of the oldest supernovas ever detected in X-rays, giving more credence to its nickname of the "Fireworks Galaxy." The diameter of the galaxy is approximately 40,000 light-years or just about a third of the size of the Milky Way

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NGC6946 "The Fireworks" Galaxy, Pablo Lewin