C12 · galaxy

Fireworks Galaxy

RA20h 34m 52sDec+60° 09' 14"

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Source: JPL via images.nasa.gov.

Identity & coordinates

Identification

Primary designation: C12
All designations: C12 · NGC 6946 · Fireworks Galaxy
Object type: Galaxy
Constellation: Cepheus
Best viewing: Autumn · Winter

Coordinates & physical

Right ascension (J2000): 20h 34m 52s
Declination (J2000): +60° 09' 14"
Apparent magnitude (V): —
Distance: —
Redshift (z): 0.000133

III

Visibility tonight

The science

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA-4.0