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
- Robert Luther
- Discovery date
- September 15, 1857
- Pronunciation
- / ə ˈ ɡ l eɪ . ə /
- Named after
- Aglaea
- Alternative designations
- Aglaia
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Aglajan
- Aphelion
- 488.740 million km (3.267 AU )
- Perihelion
- 372.222 million km (2.488 AU)
- Semi major axis
- 430.481 million km (2.878 AU)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1,782.960 d (4.88 a )
- Mean anomaly
- 225.007°
- Inclination
- 4.985°
Article
An image of 47 Aglaja made using Light curves. 47 Aglaja /əˈɡleɪ.ə/ is a large, dark main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Robert Luther on 15 September 1857 from Düsseldorf. The name was chosen by the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Bonn and refers to Aglaea, one of the Charites in Greek mythology. It was rendered Aglaia in English sources into the early 20th century, as 'i' and 'j' are equivalent in Latin names and in the Latin rendering of Greek names.
Based upon its spectrum, 47 Aglaja is listed as a C-type asteroid under the Tholen classification taxonomy, indicating a carbonaceous composition. The SMASS classification system rates it as a rare B-type asteroid. There is a broad absorption feature at 1 μm that is associated with the presence of magnetite and is what gives the asteroid its blue tint.