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
- Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
- Discovery date
- 23 July 1871
- Pronunciation
- / k ə ˈ s æ n d r ə /
- Named after
- Cassandra
- Alternative designations
- A871 OA
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 113.62 yr (41501 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.0407 AU (454.88 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.31581 AU (346.440 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.67825 AU (400.660 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.38 yr (1600.9 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 18.12 km/s
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Cassandra
- Followed by
- 115 Thyra
- Follows
- 113 Amalthea
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +94.178
- Mass
- +1.0
- Orbital period
- +1598.093006612605
Show 4 more facts
Article
114 Kassandra is a large and dark main-belt asteroid. It belongs to the class of rare T-type asteroids. It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on July 23, 1871, and is named after Cassandra, the prophetess in the tales of the Trojan War.
This object is classified as a rare T-type asteroid, with parts of the spectrum displaying properties similar to the mineral troilite and to carbonaceous chondrite. The shape of the spectrum also appears similar to fine grain from the Ornans meteorite, which landed in France in 1868. The light curve for this asteroid displays a period of 10.758 ± 0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.25 ± 0.01 in magnitude.