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
- James Craig Watson
- Discovery site
- Detroit Observatory
- Discovery date
- 19 April 1876
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ æ θ ər / , / ˈ ɑː θ ər /
- Named after
- Hathor
- Alternative designations
- A876 HA; 1899 TA;, 1961 PF; 1973 YN 4
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 116.50 yr (42551 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.70593 AU (404.801 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.05285 AU (307.102 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.37939 AU (355.952 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.67 yr (1340.6 d )
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Hathor
- Followed by
- 162 Laurentia
- Follows
- 160 Una
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +40.992
- Orbital period
- +1341.086821858176
- Image
- 161Athor (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
161 Athor is an M-type Main belt asteroid that was discovered by James Craig Watson on 19 April 1876, at the Detroit Observatory and named after Hathor, an Egyptian fertility goddess. It is the namesake of a proposed Athor asteroid family, estimated to be ~3 billion years old.
Photometric observations of the minor planet in 2010 gave a rotation period of 7.2798±0.0001 h with an amplitude of 0.19±0.02 in magnitude. This result is consistent with previous determinations. An occultation by Athor was observed, on 15 October 2002, showing an estimated diameter of 47.0 kilometres (29.2 mi). The spectra is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites, with characteristics of ferric oxides and little or no hydrated minerals.