Galaxy · Spiral
NGC 6946
NGC 6946 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Cygnus, 19.2 million light-years away.
| Type | Spiral |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Distance | 19.2 million light-years (5.89 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 113,100 light-years · 1.3 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.40 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 7.45 |
| Luminosity | 1.6 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 34m 51.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +60° 09′ 15″ |
| Source | Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (Karachentsev et al. 2013) |
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 7.45); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 30° S. North of latitude 30° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 19 million years ago. At that time the dinosaurs were gone and mammals were diversifying; there was no human lineage yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 340.8 billion years.