Spiral galaxy NGC 6949, optical image. This galaxy is located between 10 and 20 million light years away from Earth on the border between the constell

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Spiral galaxy NGC 6949, optical image. This galaxy is located between 10 and 20 million light years away from Earth on the border between the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. It is sometimes known as the Fireworks galaxy because of its phenomenal rate of star birth and death. There are red regions of emission nebulosity within the spiral arms, where hot young stars ionise hydrogen gas and cause it to glow. The blue regions are due to fine dust particles reflecting starlight. The core of the galaxy appears yellow as it is dominated by older stars. Imaged by combining data from the Subaru Telescope with RGB data.

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Size: 2925px × 2988px
Photo credit: © ROBERT GENDLER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 6949, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, cepheus, cloud, clouds, cygnus, fireworks, galaxy, image, nebula, nebulae, ngc, optical, space, spiral, star, starry, stars, stellar, subaru, telescope