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Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
From our vantage point in the
Milky
Way Galaxy, we see
NGC 6946
face-on.
The big beautiful
spiral galaxy
is located just
10 million light-years away, behind a veil of foreground stars
in the high and far-off
constellation of Cepheus.
Looking from the bright core outward along the loose, fragmented spiral
arms, the galaxy's colors show a striking change from the yellowish
light of old stars in the galaxy's center to young blue star
clusters and reddish star forming regions.
NGC 6946 is also bright in
infrared light and
rich in gas and dust, exhibiting a high star birth and
death rate.
In fact, during the 20th century, at least six supernovae, the
death explosions
of massive stars, were discovered
in NGC 6946.
In this
sharp composite color digital image, a small
barred structure
is just visible at the gorgeous galaxy's core.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - NGC 6946
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - NGC 6946
See also:
- Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
- APOD: 2026 February 4 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: Wide Field
- Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
- APOD: 2026 January 14 Á M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
- IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 November 5 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble