A Mysterious Rash of Star Birth

"A Mysterious Rash of Star Birth In this crisp Gemini North image, pink bubbles of glowing hydrogen gas spread across the arms of the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 like a rash. This amazing infusion of color is fueled by the ubiquitous birth of massive stars throughout NGC 6946; these hot young stars blast copious amounts of ultraviolet radiation into their natal shrouds of hydrogen gas, causing the clouds to glow red. For reasons unknown, NGC 6946 has a much higher rate of star formation than all of the other large galaxies in our local neighborhood. The prodigious output of stellar nurseries in this extragalactic neighbor — which lies about 20 million light years away in the direction of the constellation of Cepheus — eventually leads to accelerated numbers of supernovae explosions. NGC 6946’s supernovae have occurred in rapid-fire fashion for tens of millions of years. Over the past century, eight supernovae are known to have exploded in the arms of this stellar metropolis. NGC 6946 is, in fact, the most prolific known galaxy for supernovae during the past 100 years. These events have led to its popular nickname, the “Fireworks Galaxy.” If we could compress just a million years of NGC 6946’s history into a time-lapse movie, lasting but a few seconds, we would bear witness to a stream of nearly constant outbursts of light as new stars flare into view, while old ones expire in spectacular explosions." Technical Details: Acquisition Date(s): August 12, 2004 Telescope: Gemini North, Mauna Kea Hawai'i Instrument: GMOS (Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph) Field of View: 5.80 x 5.58 arcminutes Orientation: 184 deg CCW from N up, E to the

Credit:

International Gemini Observatory/AURA/Manuel Paredes

About the Image

Id:gemini0501a
Type:Observation
Release date:Jan. 1, 2005, 8 p.m.
Related releases:gemini0501
Related announcements:noaoann05001
Size:1996 x 1980 px

About the Object

Name:Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946
Distance:22 million light years
Constellation:Cygnus
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

Large JPEGLarge JPEG
833.0 KB
Screensize JPEGScreensize JPEG
235.6 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x7681024x768
216.4 KB
1280x10241280x1024
315.7 KB
1600x12001600x1200
414.9 KB
1920x12001920x1200
462.0 KB
2048x15362048x1536
3.3 MB

Coordinates

ObjectValue
Position (RA):20 34 52.06
Position (Dec):60° 9' 6.23"
Field of view:4.85 x 4.81 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 184.0° right of vertical


Colors & filters

BandWave-lengthTele-scope
Optical
g
475 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
r
630 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
i
780 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
H-alpha
656 nmGemini North
GMOS-N