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. Comas Solá
- Discovery date
- 20 March 1915
- Pronunciation
- / h ɪ ˈ s p eɪ n i ə /
- Named after
- Spain
- Alternative designations
- 1915 WT
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Hispanian
- Observation arc
- 39,655 d (108.57 yr)
- Aphelion
- 3.2343 AU (483.84 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.4418 AU (365.29 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.8381 AU (424.57 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.78 yr (1746.3 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 17.60 km/s
Article
804 Hispania is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered from Barcelona (Spain) on 20 March 1915 by Josep Comas Solá (1868–1937), the first asteroid to be discovered by a Spaniard.
Hispania is a carbonaceous C-type asteroid. Busarev and Taran (2002) classed it as CP type with a spectrum that shows a highly hydrated body. It has a diameter of 122 kilometers according to measurements made with the W. M. Keck Observatory. This is 30% smaller than the size estimated from the IRAS observatory data. It has a size ratio of 1.16 between its major and minor axes. Two alternate rotation periods have been found for this asteroid: 7.4 hours and double that at 14.8 hours. To explain this discrepancy, it is possible the asteroid has a peculiar shape or it may be a double asteroid.