This beautiful image of spiral galaxy NGC 6946 was obtained by the Subaru Observation Experience Program Team, a group of 10 young, qualified undergraduate students from various universities in Japan. The Subaru Observation Experience Program gives undergraduate students an opportunity to consider a career path as astronomers by conducting and experiencing real observations with the Subaru Telescope.

The team used Subaru's Suprime-Cam on the night of August 27, 2008 to study star formation activities in NGC 6946. The team's observations resulted in an image that is unique in its width and depth: It spans an area four times wider than that covered by recent studies and goes deep enough to detect tiny, star forming regions. Because Suprime-Cam is equipped with a dedicated filter that efficiently extracts hydrogen emission lines (H-alpha), it highlights star forming regions.

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More info: Subaru telescope web page