376 Geometria

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 site

Nice Observatory

Discovery date

18 September 1893

Pronunciation

/ ˌ dʒ iː ə ˈ m ɛ t r i ə , dʒ i ə -/

Named after

geometry

Alternative designations

A893 SC · 1950 BQ 1 · 1954 BJ

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

126.70 yr (46278 d)

Aphelion

2.68253 AU (401.301 Gm )

Perihelion

1.89377 AU (283.304 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.28815 AU (342.302 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.46126 yr (1264.23 d )

Mean anomaly

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

geometry

Followed by

377 Campania

Follows

375 Ursula

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+35.465

Orbital period

+1264.225961285257

Image

376Geometria (Lightcurve Inversion).png