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
- 3 November 1886
- Alternative designations
- A886 VA, 1972 YR 1
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 125.45 yr (45822 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.0975 AU (463.38 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.00585 AU (300.071 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.55168 AU (381.726 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.08 yr (1488.8 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 268.471 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 14 30.48 / day
- Inclination
- 7.6870°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q149754
- Follows
- Q149702
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +14.645
- Orbital period
- +1489.62497014506
Show 4 more facts
- P720
Article
262 Valda is a main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 3 November 1886 in Vienna. The name was proposed by Bettina von Rothschild.
Photometric observations of this asteroid from the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, during 2010 gave a light curve with a period of 17.386 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 magnitude.