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
- O. Oikawa
- Discovery site
- Tokyo Astronomical Obs.
- Discovery date
- 17 November 1927
- Pronunciation
- Japanese: [ tama ]
- Named after
- Tama River , (Japanese river )
- Alternative designations
- 1927 WB · 1930 ST, 1952 HE 4 · A894 VA, A904 VD · A919 HA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ) , Flora · background
- Observation arc
- 122.40 yr (44,708 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.4951 AU
- Perihelion
- 1.9327 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.2139 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.29 yr (1,203 days)
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Tama River
- Followed by
- 1090 Sumida
- Follows
- Q135786
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +13.082
- Orbital period
- +1203.378420750071
- Image
- 1089Tama (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 2 more facts
- P61
- Okuro Oikawa
Article
1089 Tama, provisional designation 1927 WB, is an elongated Florian asteroid and synchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered by Japanese astronomer Okuro Oikawa at the old Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (389) on 17 November 1927. The asteroid was named after the Tama River in Japan. Its minor-planet moon was discovered in December 2003 and measures approximately 9 kilometers.