NGC 6946 Fireworks Galaxy

Noirlab_noao-ngc6946_1024

noirlab_noao-ngc6946 June 30th, 2020

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage

NGC6946, the Fireworks Galaxy, lies between 10 and 20 million light-years away on the border between the constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus, and was discovered by Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) on September 9, 1798. It continues to fascinate astronomers, who estimate that it contains about half as many stars as the Milky Way. They often use it to study and characterize the evolution of massive stars and the properties of interstellar gas. As viewed in the new Gemini optical image, we see only the tip of the iceberg of this galaxy. Its optical angular diameter is about 13 arcminutes, but viewed at radio wavelength at the frequency of neutral hydrogen (1420 Mhz or 21-cm line), it extends considerably more than the angular diameter of the Moon. This Gemini North Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) image of NGC6946 utilizes a selective filter specifically designed to detect the radiation emanating from the starbirth regions. Additional filters help to distinguish other details in the galaxy, including clusters of massive blue stars, dust lanes, and a yellowish core where older more evolved stars dominate.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc6946/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Fireworks Galaxy NGC 6946
Noirlab_noao-ngc6946_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 20h 34m 52.3s
DEC = 60° 9’ 8.8”
Orientation
North is 183.9° CW
Field of View
5.8 x 5.6 arcminutes
Constellation
Cygnus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (H-alpha) 655.0 nm
Yellow Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (i) 780.0 nm
Green Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (r) 630.0 nm
Blue Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (g) 475.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Noirlab_noao-ngc6946_1280
×
ID
noao-ngc6946
Subject Category
Subject Name
Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946
Credits
International Gemini Observatory/Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage
Release Date
2020-06-30T21:33:59
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc6946/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Gemini North, Gemini North, Gemini North, Gemini North
Instrument
GMOS-N, GMOS-N, GMOS-N, GMOS-N
Color Assignment
Red, Yellow, Green, Blue
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, i, r, g
Central Wavelength
655, 780, 630, 475
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
308.717982852, 60.1524380889
Reference Dimension
2392.0, 2304.0
Reference Pixel
1196.0, 1152.0
Scale
-4.04843314616e-05, 4.04843314616e-05
Rotation
-183.94000000000023
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
NSF's NOIRLab
URL
https://noirlab.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
950 North Cherry Ave.
City
Tucson
State/Province
AZ
Postal Code
85719
Country
USA
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
NSF's NOIRLab
Publisher ID
noirlab
Resource ID
noao-ngc6946
Metadata Date
2004-12-21T07:46:21-10:00
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In