NGC 6872 - Condor Galaxy

Technical data:Acquisition date: 25 June 2020Exposure: RGB 114x3min -15CTotal exposure: 5.7 hoursTelescope: Orion UK CT8 Mount: AZ-EQ6Camera: ZWO ASI294 MC ProGuide: TS 60mm scope & T7 cameraControl: EQMOD, Stelarium, APTool, PHD2Processing: PixInsight

The weird looking galaxy is called The Condor Galaxy (due to its huge arms) or NGC 6872 and it’s a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Pavo about 212 million light years from us. This was the subject of a recent measurement showing that the extent of the long spiral arms is around 500.000 light years across, making this galaxy about 5 times the size of our Milky Way galaxy.

There is a complex dynamic happening in this galaxy group, it is thought that NGC 6872 began interacting with the smaller galaxy just above it, IC 4970 about 130 million light years ago. This also helped to distort it and create the blue portions of the spiral arms where new star formation is occurring.

The big fuzzy blob (NGC 6876) a massive elliptical accompanied by NGC 6877 is the brightest of this type in the Pavo Group and for which there is also proof that it interacted with NGC6872.