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
- 2 November 1875
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ h ɪ l d ə /
- Alternative designations
- A875 VC; 1935 GD
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Hilda )
- Adjectives
- Hildian / ˈ h ɪ l d i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 121.05 yr (44215 d)
- Aphelion
- 4.5341 AU (678.29 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 3.4225 AU (512.00 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.9783 AU (595.15 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 7.935 yr (2,898.3 d) 7.94 yr (2898.3 d )
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 154 Bertha
- Follows
- 152 Atala
- Parent body
- Sun
- Diameter
- +170.63
- Mass
- +5.2
- Orbital period
- +2888.075922726859
- Image
- Hilda-LB1-mag14.jpg
Show 5 more facts
Article
153 Hilda is a large asteroid in the outer main belt, with a diameter of 170 km. The spectrum matches that of a P-type asteroid. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on 2 November 1875, from the Austrian Naval Observatory at Pula, now Croatia. The name was chosen by the astronomer Theodor von Oppolzer, who named it after one of his daughters. It is the largest member of the Hilda family, a collisional family of asteroids in the Hilda region.
Orbit and family