Colliding galaxies lead to biggest spiral ever seen in the cosmos - and astronomers say it may be giving birth to a new one

Colliding galaxies lead to biggest spiral ever seen in the cosmos - and astronomers say it may be giving birth to a new one | Mail Online: "Astronomers have discovered the biggest spiral galaxy yet seen - and say it may be now giving birth to a new, smaller galaxy thanks to a collision with another.



The spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 has ranked among the biggest stellar systems for decades, but a new analysis has know crowned it the largest known spiral. Measuring tip-to-tip across its two out-sized spiral arms, NGC 6872 spans more than 522,000 light years - more than five times bigger than the Milky Way."