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| The Fireworks Galaxy NGC 6946 in the constellations Cygnus and Cepheus: my image was taken by the galaxy camera on the Bradford Robotic Telescope. |
NGC 6946 is a medium-sized, face-on spiral galaxy. In the past century, eight supernovas have been observed to explode in the arms of this galaxy. Chandra satellite observations have, in fact, revealed three of the oldest supernovas ever detected in X-rays, giving more credence to its nickname of the "Fireworks Galaxy."
The galaxy is about a third of the size of the Milky Way and approximately 22 million light years distant from our Solar System. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1798.
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| NGC 6946 lies within our galactic plane and is highly obscured by inter-stellar natter within our Milky Way. You can see this in the above widefield version of my image. The foreground inter-stellar matter is visible as wispy clouds that surround NGC 6946 |
Each year, on November the Fifth 'Bonfire Night' is celebrated by families throughout the United Kingdom. Bonfires are lit and fireworks are set off to celebrate the foiling of a plot, alledgedly orchestrated by Guy or Guido Fawkes, to blow up the London Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Guy and some of his co-conspirators were tortured, tried and put to death in a most vile and barbaric manner. Their objectives and assessed guilt were both political and religous. Their chosen means for realising their aims were violent. Nice to see the world has moved on since the 1600s!
Anyway, I like fireworks a lot whether they be terrestrial or intergalactic. So when you look up into the sky tonight enjoy the fireworks but remember Guy Fawkes and the terrible consequences of draconian justice and political and religous intolerance.
Credits: NASA, Wikipedia, Bradford Robotic Telescope, JORVIK Discovering York,
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