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. H. F. Peters
- Discovery date
- 9 August 1876
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ l ɔːr ə l aɪ /
- Alternative designations
- A876 PA; 1948 QS;, 1959 PB; 1960 WG
- Minor planet category
- main belt
- Observation arc
- 139.51 yr (50957 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3904 AU (507.20 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.8599 AU (427.83 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1251 AU (467.51 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.525 yr (2,017.9 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 125.88 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 42.24 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q142013
- Follows
- 164 Eva
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +180.083
- Orbital period
- +2019.516390166295
- Image
- 165Loreley (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
165 Loreley is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on August 9, 1876, in Clinton, New York and named after the Lorelei, a figure in German folklore. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.125 AU and a low eccentricity of 0.08. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 11.2° to the plane of the ecliptic.
In the late 1990s, a network of astronomers worldwide gathered light curve data that was ultimately used to derive the spin states and shape models of 10 new asteroids, including (165) Loreley. The light curve of this asteroid varies by no more than 0.2 in magnitude, while the derived shape model shows multiple flat spots on the surface. The asteroid has an oblate shape with a size ratio of 1.26 ± 0.08 between the major and minor axes, as determined from the W. M. Keck Observatory.