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
- Max Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 23 July 1909
- Alternative designations
- 1909 HC
- Observation arc
- 101.75 yr (37,164 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.2891 AU (492.04 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.9402 AU (439.85 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1146 AU (465.94 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.50 yr (2007.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 278.966 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 45.516 / day
- Inclination
- 18.509°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 259.724°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q156483
- Follows
- 682 Hagar
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +83.04
- Orbital period
- +2007.221283331487
- Image
- 683Lanzia (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 3 more facts
Article
683 Lanzia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered July 23, 1909, by Max Wolf at the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl observatory and was named in honor of Lanz, founder of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. Photometric observations made in 2003 at the Santana Observatory in Rancho Cucamonga, California, give a synodic rotation period of 8.63 ± 0.005 hours. The light curve shows a brightness variation of 0.15 ± 0.04 in magnitude.
Observations during two last occultation 18 and 22 December 2010 (P.Baruffetti, G. Tonlorenzi - Massa, G. Bonatti - Carrara, R. Di Luca - Bologna (Italy), C. Schnabel - S. Estebe, J. Rovira - Moja (Spain)) measured a 122.5 km diameter (medium) and an Albedo of 0.0705 compatible with carbonaceous asteroids (C group).