434 Hungaria
Sign in to saverelatively small inner main-belt asteroid
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
- 11 September 1898
- Pronunciation
- / h ʌ ŋ ˈ ɡ ɛər i ə /
- Named after
- Hungary
- Alternative designations
- 1898 DR
- Minor planet category
- Asteroid belt ( Hungaria )
- Observation arc
- 117.58 yr (42946 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.0878 AU (312.33 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.8011 AU (269.44 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 1.9444 AU (290.88 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 2.71 yr (990.34 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 221.145 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 21 48.636 / day
Article
434 Hungaria is a relatively small asteroid orbiting in the inner asteroid belt. It is an E-type (high-albedo) asteroid. It is the namesake of the Hungaria asteroids, which orbit the Sun on the inside of the 1:4 Kirkwood gap, standing out of the core of the asteroid belt.
It was discovered by Max Wolf on 11 September 1898 at the University of Heidelberg. It was named after Hungary, which hosted an astronomical meeting in 1898 in Budapest.