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
- C. Jackson
- Discovery site
- Johannesburg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 7 May 1932
- Named after
- Pamela Jackson , (discoverer's daughter)
- Alternative designations
- 1932 JE · 1929 XD, 1934 VL · 1951 AN, 1954 JO
Article
1243 Pamela, provisional designation 1932 JE, is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 70 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 May 1932, by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory in Johnannesburg. The asteroid was named for Pamela Jackson, daughter of the discoverer.
Orbit and classification