NGC 6946
| Fireworks Galaxy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Observation data (J2000[1] epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 20h 34m 52.3s [1] |
| Declination | 60° 09′ 14″ [1] |
| Redshift | 0.000160 |
| Distance | 22.5±7.8 Mly [2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(rs)cd |
| Notable features | Galaxy with lots of Supernovae |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 11597, Arp 29, PGC 65001, SPB93 263, 8C 2033+599, 11HUGS 410, IRAS 20338+5958, IRASF 20338+5958 | |
NGC 6946, also known as the Fireworks galaxy, Arp 29, and Caldwell 12, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cepheus and Cygnus. It is about 22.5 million light-years away[2] from Earth. It was discovered by William Herschel in September 9, 1798. It's highly obscured by interestellar matter, and it's very close to the galactic plane. It has a third of the Milky Way’s size.
Supernovae in NGC 6946[change | change source]
Fireworks Galaxy has this name because of how many supernovae happened in the galaxy.[3] The supernovae in this galaxy occur very frequently. In the last century a total of 9 supernovae were seen from this galaxy: SN 1917a, SN 1939c, SN 1948b, SNSN 1968d, SN 1969p, SN 1980k, SN 2002hh, SN 2004et, SN2008s.