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
- Franz Kaiser
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 25 January 1914
- Pronunciation
- / θ iː oʊ ˈ b ɔː l d ə /
- Alternative designations
- 1914 UA
- Minor planet category
Article
778 Theobalda is a minor planet orbiting the Sun, in the main asteroid belt. It was discovered by Franz Kaiser on 25 January 1914 and was named after his father, Theobald Kaiser. This is an F-type asteroid that spans ~64 km in girth. It rotates on its axis once every 11.7 hours. 778 Theobalda is orbiting 3.19 AU from the Sun with an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.25 and a period of 5.69 yr. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 13.7° to the plane of the ecliptic.
778 Theobalda is the namesake and largest member of a family of 128 minor planets in the outer belt. The Theobalda asteroid family was likely formed 6.9±2.3 million years ago from a collision-shattered parent body that had a diameter of around 78±9 km.