The powerful Gemini Observatory took this image of spiral galaxy NGC 6946, which is awash in star formation. This image was taken with a special filter designed to highlight the regions of star formation. Astronomers aren’t sure why this galaxy is so furiously building new stars, compared to the other galaxies in our local neighborhood. And all this starbirth leads to supernovae, which are explosions of massive stars that “live fast and die young.” Just in the last century, astronomers have seen 8 supernovae explode – more than any other galaxy ever observed.