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
- R. H. Frost
- Discovery site
- Arequipa
- Discovery date
- 21 August 1902
- Named after
- Mama Qawa , third queen of the Kingdom of Cuzco
- Alternative designations
- 1902 LL
- Observation arc
- 112.24 yr (40994 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3432 AU (500.14 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.0229 AU (302.62 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.6831 AU (401.39 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.40 yr (1605.3 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 219.54 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 27.336 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 506 Marion
- Follows
- Q154972
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +115.0
- Orbital period
- +1608.985226963587
- Image
- 505Cava (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 3 more facts
Article
505 Cava is a minor planet orbiting the Sun.
In 2001, the asteroid was detected by radar from the Arecibo Observatory at a distance of 1.18 AU. The resulting data yielded an effective diameter of 105 ± 17 km.