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
- Johann Palisa
- Discovery date
- 30 September 1880
- Pronunciation
- / ð ʌ s ˈ n ɛ l d ə /
- Named after
- Thusnelda
- Alternative designations
- A880 SA
- Minor planet category
Article
219 Thusnelda is a typical S-type Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on September 30, 1880, in Pola and was named after Thusnelda, wife of Germanic warrior Arminius.
In 1982, the asteroid was observed using photometry from the La Silla Observatory to generate a composite light curve. The resulting data showed a rotation period of 1.24 days (29.8 h) with a brightness variation of 0.2 in magnitude.