1264 Letaba

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

21 April 1933

Named after

Letaba River , (South African river )

Alternative designations

1933 HG · 1930 WC, 1954 YB · 1962 HJ, 1964 VB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

84.54 yr (30,877 days)

Aphelion

3.3108 AU

Perihelion

2.4225 AU

Semi major axis

2.8667 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.85 yr (1,773 days)

Mean anomaly

112.30 °

Mean motion

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Letaba River

Followed by

Q137424

Follows

1263 Varsavia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+66.04

Orbital period

+1770.65989808629