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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2025 August 19

                           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
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