NGC 6872 is the largest known spiral galaxy in the observable universe, spanning 717,000 light-years. For comparison, our Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter. 
This galaxy is located in the constellation Pavo, approximately 212 million light-years from Earth. Its enormous size is the result of gravitational interactions with neighboring galaxy IC 4970 (top), which has stretched NGC 6872's spiral arms, giving them an unusual shape.
Therefore, despite its colossal size, NGC 6872's mass is unimpressive compared to large spiral galaxies like our own. Most of its "volume" is comprised of extremely tenuous gas flows and regions of young stars.
This image was taken on October 1, 2014, by the ground-based Very Large Telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
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