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
- 14 May 1879
- Pronunciation
- / f ɪ l oʊ ˈ m iː l ə /
- Alternative designations
- A879 JA; 1934 JO
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Philomelian / f ɪ l oʊ ˈ m iː l i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 136.91 yr (50005 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1723 AU (474.57 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 3.0630 AU (458.22 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1177 AU (466.40 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.50 yr (2010.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 276.49 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Philomela
- Followed by
- Q146473
- Follows
- 195 Eurykleia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +144.626
- Orbital period
- +2007.953984982659
- Image
- 196Philomela (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
196 Philomela is a large and bright main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on May 14, 1879, in Clinton, New York. The asteroid is named after Philomela, the woman who became a nightingale in Greek mythology.
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.12 AU with a low eccentricity of 0.018 and an orbital period of 5.50 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 7.26° to the plane of the ecliptic. This is a stony S-type asteroid with a diameter of approximately 145 km. It is spinning with a rotation period of 8.334 hours.