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Catalogue and alternative designations

The NGC 6872 group

Type Galaxies
Position 20 16.9, -70 46(position of NGC 6872)
Constellation Pavo
Camera and Telescope STL6303E and 31.75 cm Ritchey Chretien
Focal Ratio F9
Exposure Details LRGB 280:100:100:100 using Astrodon filters all 1x1
Description NGC 6872 is the highly distorted spiral below centre interacting with IC4970 to its lower right.  NGC 6876 is the bright elliptical at the centre interacting with NGC 6877.  To the upper right, the larger galaxy is NGC 6880 interacting with IC4981. The following (slightly modified) description is taken from ESO:

The right hand spiral arm of NGC 6872 is significantly disturbed and is populated by a plethora of blueish objects, many of which are star-forming regions. This may have been caused by a recent passage of IC 4970 through it.

This interesting system is located in the southern constellation Pavo (The Peacock). It is comparatively distant, almost 300 million light-years away. It extends over more than 7 arcmin in the sky and its real size from tip to tip is thus nearly 750,000 light-years. It is in fact one of the largest known, barred spiral galaxies.

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