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
- Auguste Charlois
- Discovery date
- 14 November 1890
- Alternative designations
- A890 VA; 1909 YA, 1929 CK 1 ; 1946 UN, 1948 ED; 1953 NN
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 124.04 yr (45,305 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.67 AU (400.04 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.14 AU (319.61 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.41 AU (359.82 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.73 yr (1,362.5 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 213.798 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 15 51.174 / day
- Inclination
- 3.41369°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 303 Josephina
- Follows
- 301 Bavaria
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +38.53
- Orbital period
- +1363.551011019535
- Image
- 302Clarissa (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
302 Clarissa is a typical main-belt asteroid. The asteroid was discovered by the French astronomer Auguste Charlois on 14 November 1890 in Nice. The origin of the name is unknown. In 1991, 302 Clarissa was being considered as a possible flyby target for the Cassini spacecraft, but was later removed from consideration.
This body is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.73 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.11. The orbital plane is inclined by 3.4° to the plane of the ecliptic. There are no major planetary resonances near the orbit of 302 Clarissa. It has a retrograde spin with a rotation period of 14.4797 hours. Stellar occultation data provides a size estimate of 43±4 km, while IRAS data gives a diameter of 38.5±3.1 km. It is classified as a F-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material.