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
- G. Neujmin
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 25 January 1914
- Named after
- Nina Neujmina, (Discoverer's sister)
- Alternative designations
- A914 BH · A908 YB, A912 TE · 1914 UB
- Minor planet category
Article
779 Nina (prov. designation: A914 BH or 1914 UB) is a large background asteroid, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 25 January 1914, by Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin (1886–1946) at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The metallic X-type asteroid with an intermediate albedo has a rotation period of 11.2 hours. It was named after the discoverer's sister, Nina Neujmina (Tsentilovich) (1889–1971).
Orbit and classification