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
- G. Neujmin
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 27 October 1929
- Named after
- Raïssa Maseeva, (Russian astronomer)
- Alternative designations
- 1929 WB · A908 BB, A910 TB · A924 JA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ) background
- Observation arc
- 113.28 yr (41,374 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.6600 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1865 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.4233 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.77 yr (1,378 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 132.76 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q136370
- Follows
- Q136350
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +19.421
- Orbital period
- +1377.652145318115
- Image
- 001137-asteroid shape model (1137) Raïssa.png
Show 3 more facts
Article
1137 Raïssa (prov. designation: 1929 WB) is a stony background asteroid and slow rotator, approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) in diameter, located in the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Grigory Neujmin at Simeiz Observatory in 1929, and named in memory of Raïssa Maseeva, who worked at the Pulkovo Observatory.
Discovery