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
- Max Wolf
- Discovery date
- 13 October 1895
- Pronunciation
- / ə ˈ r æ k n iː /
- Named after
- Arachne
- Alternative designations
- 1895 CC
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Arachnean / ær ə k ˈ n iː ə n /
- Observation arc
- 116.62 yr (42596 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.80706 AU (419.930 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.44624 AU (365.952 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.62665 AU (392.941 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.26 yr (1554.9 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 155.411 °
Article
407 Arachne is a large Main belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material. It was discovered on 13 October 1895, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory.
407 Arachne has been observed to occult 9 stars between 2002 and 2023.