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
- A. Borrelly
- Discovery date
- 5 February 1877
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ b ɔː s ɪ s /
- Named after
- Baucis
- Alternative designations
- A877 CA; 1921 EE
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 133.62 yr (48806 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.6525 AU (396.81 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.1073 AU (315.25 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.3799 AU (356.03 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.67 yr (1341.0 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 175.49 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 16 6.42 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 173 Ino
- Follows
- 171 Ophelia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +62.43
- Orbital period
- +1340.870984374988
Show 5 more facts
- P720
Article
172 Baucis is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on February 5, 1877. It was named after a fictional character in the Greek legend of Baucis and Philemon. The adjectival form of the name is Baucidian.
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.38 AU with an eccentricity of 0.11 and an orbital period of 3.67 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 10° to the plane of the ecliptic. Based on infrared measurements, it has a diameter of 62.43 km. It is classified as an S-type asteroid based upon its spectrum.