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
- K. Lohnert
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 17 October 1906
- Pronunciation
- German: [ ɛlˈfʁiːdə ]
- Alternative designations
- 1906 VZ
- Observation arc
- 109.50 yr (39996 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.4223 AU (511.97 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.9551 AU (442.08 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1887 AU (477.02 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.69 yr (2079.8 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 142.019 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 23.124 / day
- Inclination
- 17.037°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 619 Triberga
- Follows
- 617 Patroclus
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +131.292
- Orbital period
- +2081.847612591911
Show 4 more facts
Article
618 Elfriede is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. On July 24, 2013, it occulted the magnitude 12.8 star 2UCAC 23949304, over parts of Mexico and southwestern United States.
Photometric observations of this asteroid collected during 2008 show a rotation period of 14.85 ± 0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.12 ± 0.02 magnitude.