The image above is the galaxy NGC 6872 which has recently been measured at a whopping 522,000 light years across, more than five times the size of our own Milky Way and making it the largest known spiral galaxy in the universe.

NGC 6872 is located around 212 million light years from Earth in the southern hemisphere constellation of Pavo. The galaxy has always been known as one of the largest spirals in the observable universe but a team of astronomers recently went over old data from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission, or GALEX, and were shocked to find it was larger than previously thought.

The answer to its vast size lies with a nearby smaller disk galaxy named IC 4970, which seems to have recently passed through its larger neighbor resulting in a flurry of new star forming activity. The enormous spiral arms of NGC 6872 which have been elongated by the collision contain millions of newly formed young stars while older stars are situated towards the center.

It is further evidence that large spiral galaxies are the result of smaller galaxies colliding, it is thought our own Milky Way galaxy formed through a similar process.

The discovery was made by chance by an international team of astronomers based in the United States, Brazil and Chile. The team’s intention was to study new star forming regions around NGC 6872 using data from NASA’s GALEX satellite, which has the ability to detect ultra-violet light from newly formed stars. The team were both shocked and delighted when they realized they had actually stumbled upon the largest known spiral galaxy in the universe.

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