NGC 6946 is known as the Fireworks Galaxy, In the past century, nine supernovae have been observed to explode in its spiral arms. This makes it the most prolific known galaxy for this type of event over a period of 100 years. By comparison, the Milky Way galaxy, which has twice as many stars as NGC 6946, averages one supernova event per century.

Image Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, R. Gendler, and the Subaru Telescope (NAOJ)