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
- J. Chacornac
- Discovery date
- 6 April 1855
- Designation
- (34) Circe
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ s ɜːr s iː /
- Named after
- Circe
- Alternative names
- 1965 JL
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Circean / s ər ˈ s iː ə n /
- Aphelion
- 2.975 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.401 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.688 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.407 yr (1609.636 d)
- Average orbital speed
- 18.12 km/s
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Circe
- Followed by
- 35 Leukothea
- Follows
- 33 Polyhymnia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +132.992
- Orbital period
- +1609.635566708381
- Image
- 34Circe (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
34 Circe is a large, very dark main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by French astronomer J. Chacornac on 6 April 1855, and named after Circe, the bewitching queen of Aeaea island in Greek mythology.
The spectrum of this object matches a C-type asteroid, suggesting a carbonaceous composition. It has a cross-section size of 113 km and is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.40 years. Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 2007 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave an asymmetrical bimodal light curve with a period of 12.176 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 in magnitude. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.