Picture of the Day · NASA
NGC 3660 and Burçin's Galaxy
2026-05-26
The upper galaxy might be more photogenic, but the lower galaxy is more unusual. The galaxy up top is NGC 3660, a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy in that it has several bright blue spiral arms and a central bar of stars, dust, and gas. Captured by chance in the featured deep and colorful image, surprisingly, is SN 2026cff, a supernova found just to the right of the central bar. Farther in the distance is the bottom galaxy, known informally as Burçin’s galaxy, but formally cataloged as LEDA 1000714. The center of this galaxy appears to be an old elliptical galaxy, but it is strangely surrounded by not one but two rings of stars. What created Burçin's galaxy is a mystery and remains a continuing topic of research, but it likely involves the accretion of one or more smaller galaxies.
via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- James Craig Watson
- Discovery date
- 13 September 1868
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ k l ɪ m ɪ n iː /
- Alternative designations
- A868 RB, 1893 FA, 1951 OE, 1968 OS
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 130.58 yr (47693 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.6499 AU (546.02 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.65525 AU (397.220 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.15256 AU (471.616 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.60 yr (2044.5 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 16.67 km/s
- Mean anomaly
- 101.498 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 105 Artemis
- Follows
- 103 Hera
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +136.553
- Mass
- +2000000000000000000
- Orbital period
- +2035.50024849155
Show 5 more facts
Article
104 Klymene is a large, dark Themistian asteroid that was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 13, 1868, and named after one of the many Clymenes in Greek mythology. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.60 years and an eccentricity of 0.16. The orbital plane is inclined by 2.8° to the plane of the ecliptic. It is classified as a C-type asteroid, indicating it probably has a carbonaceous composition. The spectra indicates the presence of aqueous-altered minerals on the surface based upon a sharp feature at a wavelength of 3 μm, and, as of 2015, is the only member of the Themis family found to show this absorption.
Based upon measurements made using adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory, this object may have a bi-lobed shape with a length of 163 ± 3 km and width of 103 ± 5 km, for an average dimension of 133 km. This asteroid is located near the region of the Themis family but itself considered a background asteroid using HCM-analysis. It is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.