A mag. 9 type Sc galaxy at 10 million light years. NGC 6946 lies very close to the galactic plane and is obscured to some extent by galactic dust.
NGC 6946 is very active in star formation and in supernovas, NGC 6946 has had seven supernova in the last 100 years making it the most prolific producer of supernova. The super luminous supernova remnant MF 16 (blue area in lower spiral arm) is a possible black hole x-ray binary.