noaoann05001 — Announcement
Galactic Fireworks
2 January 2005
Like the annual New Year’s fireworks display, astronomers at Gemini Observatory are ushering in 2005 with a striking image that dazzles the eye with stellar pyrotechnics. In this new image, the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is ablaze with colorful outbursts fueled by the births and deaths of multitudes of brilliant, massive stars.