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
- T. Gehrels
- Discovery site
- Palomar Obs.
- Discovery date
- 24 March 1971
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ d ɛ d ə l ə s /
- Named after
- Daedalus ( Greek mythology )
- Alternative designations
- 1971 FA
- Minor planet category
- Apollo · NEO
- Observation arc
- 46.14 yr (16,854 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.3586 AU
- Perihelion
- 0.5634 AU
- Semi major axis
- 1.4610 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1.77 yr (645 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 23.049 °
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- near-Earth object
- Named after
- Daedalus
- Followed by
- 1865 Cerberus
- Follows
- Q144913
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +3.7
- Orbital period
- +644.9145218905528
Show 4 more facts
- P61
- Tom Gehrels
- P65
Article
1864 Daedalus (provisional designation 1971 FA) is a stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 March 1971, by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory, California, and named after Daedalus from Greek mythology.
Orbit and classification