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 , 1879
- Discovery date
- 21 March 1879
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ p r ɒ k n iː /
- Named after
- Procne
- Alternative designations
- A879 FA
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Proknean / p r ɒ k ˈ n iː ə n /
- Observation arc
- 136.76 yr (49950 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.2386 AU (484.49 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.9930 AU (298.15 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.6158 AU (391.32 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.23 yr (1545.3 d )
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Procne
- Followed by
- 195 Eurykleia
- Follows
- 193 Ambrosia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +161.667
- Orbital period
- +1547.414739924095
Show 4 more facts
Article
194 Prokne is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on March 21, 1879, in Clinton, New York. It was named after Procne, the sister of Philomela in Greek mythology. Stellar occultations by Prokne have been observed twice, in 1984 from Italy and again in 1999 from Iowa (United States).
This asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.62 AU with a moderate eccentricity of 0.238 and an orbital period of 4.23 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 18.5° to the plane of the ecliptic.