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
- 31 October 1888
- Pronunciation
- / l uː ˈ k r iː ʃ ə /
- Named after
- Caroline Lucretia Herschel
- Alternative designations
- A888 UC, 1906 FD, 1948 EK, 1984 JX
- Minor planet category
Article
281 Lucretia is an asteroid belonging to the Flora family in the Main Belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 31 October 1888 in Vienna, and is named after the middle name of Caroline Herschel, one of the first female astronomers. Light curves of this asteroid show a synodic rotation period of 4.349±0.001 h with an amplitude of 0.3–0.4 magnitude. The spin axis appears nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic.
References