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Astronomers using the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new photo of the medium-sized spiral galaxy NGC 6946.
This Hubble image shows the spiral arms and various stellar environments of NGC 6946. The color image was taken from separate exposures taken in the infrared region of the spectrum with the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Three filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Leroy / KS Long.
NGC 6946 is located approximately 18 million light years away, along the border of the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus.
Also known as LEDA 65001, UGC 11597 and APG 29, the galaxy is 70,000 light years in diameter.
NGC 6946 was discovered on September 9, 1798 by German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
It is part of the NGC 6946 group, which also includes several irregular spiral and dwarf galaxies.
“We can marvel at NGC 6946 because it is a face-to-face galaxy, which means we see the galaxy in front of us, rather than seeing it from the side,” said the Hubble astronomers .
“This galaxy is further classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy and as a star galaxy.”
“The first means that the structure of NGC 6946 falls between a solid spiral and a barred spiral galaxy, with only a slight bar across its center, and the second means that it has an unusually high rate of star formation.”
“In the last century alone, NGC 6946 has experienced 10 observed supernovae, earning it its nickname the Fireworks Galaxy,” they added.
“In comparison, our Milky Way records an average of 1 to 2 supernova events per century.”
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