NGC 6946
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NGC 6946 | |
Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946 |
|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
---|---|
Constellation | Cepheus & Cygnus |
Right ascension | 20h 34m 52.3s[1] |
Declination | +60° 09′ 14″[1] |
Distance | 18 Mly[1] |
Type | SAB(rs)cd[1] |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 11′.5 × 9′.8[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +9.6[1] |
Other designations | |
UGC 11597, PGC 65001, Arp 29[1] | |
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies |
NGC 6946, also known as the "Fireworks Galaxy", is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 10 million light-years away, on the border between the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 9, 1798. NGC 6946 is highly obscured by interstellar matter of the Milky Way galaxy, as it is quite close to the galactic plane. Nine supernovae (SN 1917A, SN 1939C, SN 1948B, SN 1968D, SN 1969P, SN 1980K, SN 2002hh, SN 2004et, and SN 2008S) were observed in NGC 6946.