NGC 6946

NGC 6946, also known as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 22 1/2 million light years from Earth. Since this object is close to the galactic plane, it lies behind a great deal of insterstellar dust and gas and would appear much brighter otherwise. Nine supernovae have been seen in NGC 6946, from 1917 to 2008.

Image taken Sept 3, 2012, with the C-14 operating at F:7 and the ST-8 camera binned 2 X 2. Exposure was 15 minutes, a stack of 3  5-minute self-guided exposures.