Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 6872: A Stretched Spiral Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 26, 2016 is “NGC 6872: A Stretched Spiral Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: FORS Team , 8.2-meter VLT Antu , ESO ; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt. The original explanation runs about 123 words.

NGC 6872: A Stretched Spiral Galaxy
Credit: Image Credit: FORS Team , 8.2-meter VLT Antu , ESO ; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What makes this spiral galaxy so long? Measuring over 700,000 light years across from top to bottom, NGC 6872 , also known as the Condor galaxy, is one of the most elongated barred spiral galaxies known.”

— APOD editors, April 26, 2016

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 26, 2016
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: FORS Team , 8.2-meter VLT Antu , ESO ; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 123 words

All of April 2016 → · 2016 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 26 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.