Fireworks Galaxy

Resource added September, 2023

Full description

NGC 6946 has also a nickname: The Fireworks Galaxy. I wonder if it is because of its shape, as it looks like a pinwheel. The nickname "pinwheel" is already taken however (Messier 101, a few pictures before this one) so the name Fireworks is now used. As galaxies go, it is rather close at 23 Million Light years. Perhaps the name "Fireworks" is used because of the many supernovae (10 in the last century) that were observed in it. Whatever the reason, here's a rendition of the Fireworks Galaxy from the EKU's Observatory.

type
Image
created on
September 14th, 2023
file format
jpg
file size
2 MB
creator
Marco Ciocca
publisher
Eastern Kentucky University
publisher place
Richmond, KY
restrictions
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
rights
Copyright © 2023 by Marco Ciocca. EKU Observatory Images is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.