孔雀座的庞大星系

2023年6月23日

Giant Galaxies in Pavo
Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby, Observatorio El Sauce

Explanation: 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.

Tomorrow’s picture: light-weekend

孔雀座的庞大星系
影像提供与版权: Mike Selby, Observatorio El Sauce

说明: 跨幅超过500,000光年的NGC 6872（右上），是个庞大无比的棒旋星系，其大小至少是我们庞然银河系的5倍以上。这个庞大星系扭曲及拉伸的螺旋臂，看来酷似巨鸟的长翼，更为它博得秃鹰星系之称。秃鹰星系位在南天的孔雀座方向约2亿光年远之处。NGC 6872密布恒星形成区的扭曲螺旋臂，源自与位于这个庞大星系核心上方的邻近小星系IC 4970、发生重力交互作用所致。在高飞的秃鹰星系左下方的NGC 6876，则是孔雀星系群最具主宰性的庞大椭圆星系。 （Condor galaxy 秃鹰星系）

明日的图片: light-weekend