Spiral galaxy NGC 6946, optical image. Spiral arms radiate from the central nucleus. This galaxy lies around 20 million light years from Earth in the

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Spiral galaxy NGC 6946, optical image. Spiral arms radiate from the central nucleus. This galaxy lies around 20 million light years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus. It is over 70,000 light years across. NGC 6946 produces many supernovae, with six being detected in the 20th century. However, as NGC 6946 lies in the plane of our galaxy, they are obscured by nearby stars.

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Size: 3449px × 2538px
Photo credit: © TONY & DAPHNE HALLAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 12, 29, 6946, arms, arp, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, caldwell, cepheus, face, fireworks, galactic, galaxy, ngc, optical, space, spiral, stars, universe, visible