Giant Galaxies in Pavo
Over 500,000 light years across, NGC 6872 (top right) is a truly enormous barred spiral galaxy , at least 5 times the size of our own very large Milky Way. The appearance of this giant galaxy's distorted and stretched out spiral arms suggests the magnificent wings of a giant bird. Of course its popular moniker is the Condor galaxy. It lies about 200 million light-years distant toward the southern constellation Pavo, the Peacock. Lined with star-forming regions , the distorted spiral arms are due to NGC 6872's gravitational interaction with the nearby smaller galaxy IC 4970 , seen just above the giant galaxy's core. The Pavo galaxy group's dominant giant elliptical galaxy, NGC 6876 is below and left of the soaring Condor galaxy.