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Credit & Copyright: Adam Block
Explanation:
Over 500,000 light years across,
NGC 6872
(bottom left) is a truly
enormous barred spiral galaxy.
At least 5 times the size of our own large Milky Way,
NGC 6872 is the largest
known spiral galaxy.
About 200 million light-years distant
toward the southern constellation Pavo, the Peacock,
the appearance of this giant galaxy's
stretched out spiral arms suggest the wings of a giant bird.
So its popular moniker is the Condor galaxy.
Lined with massive young, bluish star clusters and
star-forming regions,
the extended and distorted spiral arms are
due to NGC 6872's past gravitational interactions with the nearby smaller
galaxy IC 4970,
visible here below the giant spiral galaxy's core.
Other members of the southern
Pavo galaxy group
are scattered through this
magnificent galaxy group portrait,
with the dominant giant elliptical galaxy, NGC 6876,
above and right of the soaring Condor galaxy.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day