The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946 (Steven Bellavia)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg) · Contains: Fireworks Galaxy · NGC 6946

The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946, Steven Bellavia

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The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946

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The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946

NGC 6946 (C12, PGC 65001, UGC 11597, Arp 29) - The Fireworks Galaxy is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus. It is 25.2 million light years from Earth. Discovered by William Herschel on 9 September 1798, this well-studied galaxy has a diameter of approximately 40,000 light-years, about one-third of the Milky Way's size and it contains roughly half the number of stars as the Milky Way.

It is called the "Fireworks Galaxy" because it has an unusually high rate of supernovae production, with 10 discovered in the last 100 years, compared to our Milky Way galaxy, whose rate averages just one supernova event per century. This is the more remarkable as our Galaxy comprises twice as many stars.

Christina K. Lacey, of Hofstra University, Long Island, NY, has done extensive research, with many published papers, specifically regarding compact radio sources in NGC 6946.

NGC 6946 is in the constellation Cepheus, and appears as a patch of haze with small binoculars. Galaxy NGC 6946 is a Caldwell object, C12

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The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946

The Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946

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