Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  Fireworks Galaxy  ·  HD196085  ·  NGC 6939  ·  NGC 6946
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NGC 6939, NGC 6946 + IFN, Phil Creed
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NGC 6939, NGC 6946 + IFN

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 6939, NGC 6946 + IFN, Phil Creed
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 6939, NGC 6946 + IFN

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Description

One of the best examples of contrasting scales is the pairing of cluster NGC 6939 and the galaxy NGC 6946 in Cepheus.  They easily fit into the same telescopic field of view not due to physical proximity, but strictly line-of-sight.  NGC 6939 (lower right) is about 4,000 light-years away in our own galaxy, and NGC 6946 (upper left) is more than 20 million light years away.

Of not is something that's at an intermediate distance.  The very faint, gossamer glow concentrated in the right portion of this photo is the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN).  This lies just outside of the Milky Way galaxy.  Unlike most dust nebula that reflect the lights of individual stars, the IFN reflects the collective glow of our Milky Way galaxy.

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NGC 6939, NGC 6946 + IFN, Phil Creed