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
- 28 November 1883
- Pronunciation
- / k ær ə ˈ l aɪ n ə /
- Named after
- Caroline Island
- Alternative designations
- A883 WA, 1909 GJ, 1934 GY, 1939 GN, 1956 VK
- Minor planet category
Article
235 Carolina is a sizeable Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 28 November 1883 in Vienna, and was named after Caroline Island, now part of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. This asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.88 AU with a period of 4.89 yr and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.06. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 9.0° to the plane of the ecliptic.
Photometric data collected during 2007 were used to construct a light curve that demonstrated a rotation period of 17.1600±0.0004 h with a brightness variation of 0.30±0.02 in magnitude. It is a stony S-type asteroid.