Facing NGC 6946 . ... Composite Image Data - Subaru Telescope ( NAOJ ) and Robert Gendler; Processing - Robert Gendler Explanation: From our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy , we see NGC 6946 face-on . The big, beautiful spiral galaxy is located just 10 million light-years away, behind a veil of foreground dust and stars in the high and far-off constellation of Cepheus . ... NGC 6946 is also bright in infrared light and rich in gas and dust, exhibiting a high star birth and death rate. ...