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
- J. Helffrich
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 3 February 1911
- Pronunciation
- / r æ f eɪ ˈ ɛ l ə , - f aɪ -/
- Alternative designations
- 1911 LJ
- Observation arc
- 123.34 yr (45049 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.9024 AU (434.19 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.4387 AU (364.82 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.6705 AU (399.50 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.36 yr (1594.0 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 9.02998 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 33.024 / day
- Inclination
- 3.4910°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q156678
- Follows
- Q156668
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +21.43
- Orbital period
- +1593.901490428255
- Image
- 708Raphaela (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
708 Raphaela is a minor planet orbiting the Sun.
Observations performed at the Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado during 2007 produced a light curve with a period of 20.918 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.45 ± 0.02 in magnitude.