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
- August Kopff
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 21 March 1907
- Alternative designations
- 1907 YJ
- Observation arc
- 109.08 yr (39842 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.0226 AU (452.17 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.5641 AU (383.58 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.7933 AU (417.87 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.67 yr (1705.2 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 217.70 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 39.996 / day
- Inclination
- 18.917°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 224.709°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 632 Pyrrha
- Follows
- Q155976
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +50.491
- Orbital period
- +1703.870205846139
- Image
- 631Philippina (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
631 Philippina is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on March 21, 1907.
Photometric of this asteroid made in 1981 gave a light curve with a period of 5.92 ± 0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 in magnitude. In 2007 lightcurve data showed that it rotates every 5.899 ± 0.001 hours.