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
- Norman Robert Pogson
- Discovery date
- 23 May 1856
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ aɪ s ɪ s /
- Named after
- Isis Pogson
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Isidian / aɪ ˈ s ɪ d i ə n /
- Aphelion
- 446.706 million km (2.986 AU )
- Perihelion
- 283.890 million km (1.898 AU)
- Semi major axis
- 365.298 million km (2.442 AU)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1393.737 d (3.82 a )
- Mean anomaly
- 121.874°
- Inclination
- 8.530°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Isis Pogson
- Followed by
- 43 Ariadne
- Follows
- 41 Daphne
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +110.997
- Orbital period
- +1395.387498973379
- Image
- 42Isis (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
- P61
- N. R. Pogson
Article
42 Isis is a large main-belt asteroid, measuring 100.2 km in diameter with a stony (S-type) composition. It was discovered by English astronomer N.R. Pogson on 23 May 1856 at Oxford, and was his first asteroid discovery. The asteroid's name was chosen by Manuel John Johnson, director of the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford. Although Isis is the name of an Egyptian goddess, the name was chosen in homage to Pogson's astronomer daughter, (Elizabeth) Isis Pogson. In addition, the Isis is the stretch of the River Thames that runs through Oxford.
This asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.82 years. The light curve inversion technique, when applied to photometric observations of this asteroid, show multiple local irregularities. The overall shape displays little elongation, with a ratio between the major and minor axes equal to 1.1. The measured rotation period for this model is 13.6 hours. The spectrum of 42 Isis reveals the strong presence of the mineral olivine, a relative rarity in the asteroid belt.