Sunny Priyan
NGC 6956 is a barred spiral galaxy, a common type of spiral galaxy with a bar-shaped structure of stars in its center.
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
This galaxy exists 214 million light-years away in the constellation Delphinus.
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to image NGC 6956 to study its Cepheid variable stars, which are stars that brighten and dim at regular periods.
Image Credit: Pixabay
By comparing a Cepheid’s apparent brightness to its true brightness, scientists can accurately measure its distance from Earth.
Image Credit: Pixabay
As a result, these stars are extremely useful in determining the distance of cosmic objects, which is one of the hardest pieces of information to measure for extragalactic objects.
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
By comparing a Cepheid’s apparent brightness to its true brightness, scientists can accurately measure its distance from Earth.
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA