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
- 4 May 1896
- Pronunciation
- / v æ t ɪ ˈ k eɪ n ə /
- Named after
- Vatican Hill
- Alternative designations
- 1896 CS
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 117.37 yr (42868 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.40808 AU (509.842 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.18756 AU (327.254 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.79782 AU (418.548 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.66 yr (1703.1 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 267.98 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 40.968 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Vatican Hill
- Followed by
- 417 Suevia
- Follows
- Q152790
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +85.47
- Orbital period
- +1703.877127473773
- Image
- 416Vaticana (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
416 Vaticana is a large main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 4 May 1896 in Nice.
References