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
- J. Palisa
- Discovery site
- Austrian Naval Obs.
- Discovery date
- 13 October 1874
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ ʃ iː w ə /
- Named after
- Živa
- Alternative designations
- A874 TB; 1948 AL
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 139.10 yr (50805 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3224 AU (497.02 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.14323 AU (320.623 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.73283 AU (408.826 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.52 yr (1650.1 d )
- Average orbital speed
Article
140 Siwa is a large and dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on October 13, 1874. It was named after Živa (Šiwa), a Slavic goddess of fertility. This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.73 AU with an eccentricity of 0.22 and an orbital period of 4.52 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.2°.
A 2004 study of the spectrum of 140 Siwa matched a typical C-type asteroid with typical carbonaceous chondrite makeup. There are no absorption features of mafic minerals found. The classification was later revised to a P-type asteroid.