  We analyze the new mid-infrared maps of NGC 6946 for variations in the color
ratio of the 7-to-15 micron emission. Our preliminary findings are that this
mid-infrared color is remarkably constant between arms and inter-arm regions,
and as a function of radius in the disk, excluding the nuclear region. As
surface brightness ranges by more than an order of magnitude and the radius
runs from about 0.5 to 3kpc, the color ratio remains constant to about +/-20%.
Our interpretation is that (1) hard UV radiation from OB stars does not
dominate the heating of the grains radiating in the mid-infrared; and (2) that
surface brightness variations are driven primarily by surface-filling fraction
in the disk, and by radiation intensity increases in starburst environments,
such as the nucleus of NGC 6946.
