How to photograph the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946)
A face-on spiral seen through the dust of our own Milky Way.
Photo byAndreigusan(CC0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Fireworks Galaxy
NGC 6946 has had more recorded supernovae than any other galaxy. It sits behind the plane of the Milky Way, so it is dimmed by dust and needs dark skies.
Gear and framing
The Fireworks Galaxy spans about 11′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This is a broadband target, which means its light is mostly starlight across the whole spectrum. Shoot it with no filter or a UV/IR cut filter. A broadband light pollution filter can help a little in the suburbs. Dual-band and narrowband filters block most of its light, so leave them off. Plan it for a moonless night at a dark site.
Tips
- The open cluster NGC 6939 sits nearby and frames with it at 500-800mm.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.