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
- L. Kohoutek
- Discovery site
- Bergedorf Obs.
- Discovery date
- 26 October 1971
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ s ɜːr b ər ə s /
- Named after
- Cerberus ( Greek mythology )
- Alternative designations
- 1971 UA
- Minor planet category
- NEO · Apollo
- Adjectives
- Cerberean, -ian / s ɜːr ˈ b ɪər i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 45.05 yr (16,456 days)
- Aphelion
- 1.5844 AU
- Perihelion
- 0.5757 AU
- Semi major axis
- 1.0801 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1.12 yr (410 days)
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- near-Earth object
- Named after
- Cerberus
- Followed by
- 1866 Sisyphus
- Follows
- 1864 Daedalus
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +1.2
- Orbital period
- +409.9378397400544
- Image
- 1865Cerberus (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
1865 Cerberus is a stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 1.6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 October 1971, by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek at the Hamburger Bergedorf Observatory, Germany, and given the provisional designation 1971 UA. It was named for Cerberus from Greek mythology.
Orbit and classification