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
- 25 April 1890
- Alternative designations
- A890 HA, 1954 UJ 3
- Minor planet category
- main-belt
- Observation arc
- 124.62 yr (45516 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.4273 AU (363.12 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.01631 AU (301.636 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.22182 AU (332.380 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.31 yr (1209.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 115.293 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 17 51.382 / day
- Inclination
- 1.8555°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q150359
- Follows
- Q150309
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +10.456
- Orbital period
- +1209.578977774755
- Image
- 291Alice (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 3 more facts
Article
291 Alice is a stony background asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on 25 April 1890 at the Vienna Observatory.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 4.313 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This result is in agreement with previous studies. Lightcurve analysis indicates that Alice's pole points towards either ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (55°, 65°) or (β, λ) = (55°, 245°) with a 10° uncertainty. This gives an axial tilt of about 35° in both cases.