Revealing the largest galaxy in the universe

A group of international astronomers said the data analysis results of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on a distant planetary system helped them identify the largest spiral galaxy ever. known.

It has long been considered one of the largest star systems ever observed, the impressive outward spiral galaxy NGC 6872 spans over 522,000 light years, which is five times larger than the size of the Milky Way. ha.

Galaxy illustration NGC 6872 from SPACE.com

Experts have drawn this conclusion after analyzing data stored in the galaxy's evolutionary mission (GALEX) made by NASA, and now belongs to the California Institute of Technology's management in Pasadena. , California state (ie Caltech).

'Without the ability to detect ultraviolet light emanating from GALEX's youngest, hottest stars, we are never aware of the full scale of this fascinating system,' according to Space.com. Lead researcher Rafael Eufrasio, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA.

In addition to GALEX, experts studied the galaxy based on data collected from the Southern Southern Observatory's Great Telescope, a 2MASS survey conducted by Caltech and Spitzer's Space Telescope. NASA.

NGC 6872 is located about 212 million light-years from Earth, belonging to the southern constellation Zhuge.