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
- Oskar Lesser Wilhelm Julius Foerster
- Discovery date
- 14 September 1860
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ ɛr ə t oʊ /
- Named after
- Ἐρατώ Eratō
- Minor planet category
- Main-belt ( middle ) Themis
- Adjectives
- Eratoian / ɛ r ə ˈ t oʊ . i ə n /
- Aphelion
- 3.679 AU (550.4 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.566 AU (383.9 Gm )
- Semi major axis
- 3.122 AU (467.0 Gm )
- Orbital period sidereal
- 2,015.178 d (5.52 yr )
- Mean anomaly
- 161.828°
- Inclination
- 2.223°
- Longitude of ascending node
Article
62 Erato (/ˈɛrətoʊ/) is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 95 kilometers (59 miles) in diameter. It is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar properties and orbital characteristics. Photometric measurements during 2004–2005 showed a rotation period of 9.2213±0.0007 h with an amplitude of 0.116±0.005 in magnitude. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.52 yr, a semimajor axis of 3.122 AU, and eccentricity of 0.178. The orbital plane is inclined by an angle of 2.22° to the plane of the ecliptic.
Erato is the first asteroid to have been credited with co-discoverers, Oskar Lesser and Wilhelm Forster, who discovered it on 14 September 1860, from the Berlin Observatory. It was their first and only asteroid discovery. The name was chosen by Johann Franz Encke, director of the observatory, and refers to Erato, the Muse of lyric poetry in Greek mythology. It has also been classified as a member of the Eos family.