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.