378 Holmia

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

6 December 1893

Pronunciation

/ ˈ h oʊ ( l ) m i ə /

Named after

Stockholm

Alternative designations

A893 XA · 1953 XS 1 · 1960 FJ · 1962 TP · 1962 UC · 1979 KP 1

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

131.53 yr (48040 d)

Aphelion

3.1363 AU (469.18 Gm )

Perihelion

2.4170 AU (361.58 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.7767 AU (415.39 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.6269 yr (1690.0 d )

Average orbital speed

17.88 km/s

Mean anomaly

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Stockholm

Followed by

379 Huenna

Follows

377 Campania

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+27.831

Orbital period

+1689.983324667003

Image

378Holmia (Lightcurve Inversion).png