The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946 NGC 6946, Caldwell 12, Arp 29, UGC 11597) — is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy located roughly 22 to 25 million light-years away on the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. This galaxy is an active starburst galaxy packed with glowing hydrogen (H II) regions and dusty spiral arms which continuously spawn new, massive stars that burn bright, and has earned its nickname by having an extraordinarily high rate of observed supernovae. At least 10 supernovae have been recorded in the galaxy over the past century.

NGC 6939 is an ancient open star cluster located in the northern constellation Cepheus, estimated to be over 1 billion to nearly 2 billion years old, making it unusually old for an open cluster. This cluster comprises roughly 70 to 80 resolved stars arranged in an irregular, compressed shape with characteristic winding chains of stars.

40 subs, 30 sec each, 20 minutes total exposure time with a Seestar S50 Pro in equatorial mode using IR-cut filter.

Processed using StackingWizard, AstroWizard, BlurXTernimator, NoiseXTerminator, StarXTerminator and ACDSee Photo Studio.

Jackson Park
Victoria, BC Canada
2026-10-17, 9:46:49 PM