https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:47:17 -0300 Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:47:17 -0300 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Zenphoto RSS Generator https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=testC12+Astrowizard_final.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Total image time was 5 hours and 56 minutes.

Moon Phase	Waxing Gibbous
Camera	Seestar S50 Pro (4K Sony IMX585 sensor)
Optics	260 mm focal length, f/5.2, 50 mm aperture
Filter	IRCUT
Binning	1x1
Stacking	StackingWizard, 356 of 375 frames stacked
Date	2026-09-24
AstroWizard Processing	GraXpert background extraction (0.5) Color calibration BlurXTerminator (0.6) GraXpert denoise (linear, 0.6) NoiseXTerminator (linear, 0.9) (x2) Stretch (deep) Darken background (x5) Darken background (starless) Star removal (StarXTerminator) NoiseXTerminator (non-linear, 0.6) Contrast (pop) adjustment (x2) Saturation adjustment Star recombination (screen blend)

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=testC12+Astrowizard_final.jpg Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=C12+Astrowizard.jpeg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Total image time was 5 hours and 56 minutes.

Moon Phase	Waxing Gibbous
Camera	Seestar S50 Pro (4K Sony IMX585 sensor)
Optics	260 mm focal length, f/5.2, 50 mm aperture
Filter	IRCUT
Binning	1x1
Stacking	StackingWizard, 356 of 375 frames stacked
Date	2026-09-24
AstroWizard Processing	BlurXTerminator (0.6) NoiseXTerminator (0.6) (x3)

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=C12+Astrowizard.jpeg Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-600.00s_FILTER-Clear_RGB_%283%29c.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x3) BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) PixelMath (x2) Curves Transformation (x5) Dynamic Crop HDR Multiscale Transform SCNR

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-600.00s_FILTER-Clear_RGB_%283%29c.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946%283%29b.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x3) BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) PixelMath (x3) Curves Transformation (x4) Dynamic Crop HDR Multiscale Transform SCNR

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946%283%29b.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946b.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x4) BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) PixelMath Curves Transformation

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946b.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946b_cropped+copy.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x4) BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) PixelMath Curves Transformation Dynamic Crop

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946b_cropped+copy.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946_Clear%2BTriad.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x3) PixelMath Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch Star Alignment Local Histogram Equalization Unsharp Mask Curves Transformation (x2)

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946_Clear%2BTriad.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-600.00s_FILTER-Clear_RGB_%283%29a.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Total image time was 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Filter	Clear
Binning	1x1
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x5) BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal)

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-600.00s_FILTER-Clear_RGB_%283%29a.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946a.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x4) PixelMath HDR Multiscale Transform (x2)

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=NGC_6946a.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300 https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-900.00s_Clear%2B-Triad+Quad_RGB_drizzle_2x_cropped_CC_NXT+copy.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946]

Moon Phase	Waxing Crescent
Camera	ToupTek ATR2600C
Optics	Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet)
Date	2025-08-27
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x3) Drizzle Integration Dynamic Crop BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) PixelMath HDR Multiscale Transform

Date: October 11, 2026 ]]> https://sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=Galaxies/NGC-6946-Fireworks-Galaxy-&image=masterLight_BIN-1_6224x4168_EXPOSURE-900.00s_Clear%2B-Triad+Quad_RGB_drizzle_2x_cropped_CC_NXT+copy.jpg Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0300