2025年8月19日
Giant Galaxies in Pavo
Image 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.
Tomorrow’s picture: meteor door
孔雀座的庞大星系
影像提供与版权: Adam Block
说明: 跨幅超过500,000光年的NGC 6872（左下），是个如假包换的庞大棒旋星系。大小至少是银河系五倍之多的NGC 6872，是现知最大的螺旋星系。位于南天的孔雀座方向、距离约2亿光年远的此巨型星系，其绵延的螺旋臂形似巨鸟的翅膀，因此也为它博得秃鹰星系的令名。由于NGC 6872过去与附近较小、位于其核心下方的IC 4970星系之间的重力互扰，造成它延伸且扭曲的螺旋臂上，散布着大量的年轻蓝色星团和恒星形成区。此外，在这幅壮丽星系群的合照里，还可见到南天孔雀星系群的其他成员，包括位于秃鹰星系上右方的庞然椭圆星系NGC 6876 。
明日的图片: meteor door
