| NGC 6872 and IC 4970 | |
|---|---|
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Pavo |
| Right ascension | 20h 16m 56.5s / 20h 16m 57.1s[1] |
| Declination | -70° 46′ 06″ / -70° 44′ 58″[1] |
| Redshift | 4560 ± 30 / 4720 ± 40 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 220 Mly[2] |
| Type | SAB(rs)c / SA0- pec[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 6′.0 × 1′.7 / 0′.7 × 0′.2[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.7 / 14.7[1] |
| Notable features | Interacting galaxies |
| Other designations | |
|
ESO 073-IG 032 / 073-IG 033,[1] PGC 64413 / 64415[1] |
|
| See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies | |
NGC 6872 and IC 4970 are a set of interacting galaxies over 200 million light-years away in the constellation Pavo.
On March 29, 1999, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) took a look at these galaxies. It shows the spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 that is shaped like an "integral sign". It is of type SB(s)b pec and is accompanied by a smaller, interacting galaxy, IC 4970 of type E7-S0[3] One of NGC 6872 spiral arms is significantly disturbed and is populated by a plethora of bluish objects, many of which are star-forming regions. This may have been be caused by a recent passage of IC 4970 through it. The whole of NGC 6872 extends over more than 6 arcmin in the sky and its real size from tip to tip is thus nearly 380,000 light years.[4] It is in fact one of the largest known barred spiral galaxies.