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. Perrotin
- Discovery date
- 29 January 1878
- Pronunciation
- / ɡ ə ˈ r ʌ m n ə /
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 96.73 yr (35331 d)
- Aphelion
Article
180 Garumna is a main belt asteroid that was discovered by the French astronomer Henri Joseph Perrotin on January 29, 1878. Its name comes from the ancient Latin name for the Garonne River in France. This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.72 AU with an eccentricity of 0.165 and an orbital period of 4.49 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 0.87° to the plane of the ecliptic.
Based on infrared observations, this object has a diameter of 23.4 km. In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as a stony S-type asteroid, while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it with the Sr sub-type.