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
- Karl Theodor Robert Luther
- Discovery date
- 27 November 1864
- Pronunciation
- / æ l k ˈ m iː n iː /
- Named after
- Alcmene
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Alkmenean / æ l k ˈ m iː n i ə n /
- Aphelion
- 3.3701 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1609 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.7655 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.60 yr
- Average orbital speed
- 17.70 km/s
- Mean anomaly
- 192.56°
- Inclination
- 2.8286°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Alkmene
- Followed by
- Q109927
- Follows
- 81 Terpsichore
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +57.621
- Mass
- +240
- Orbital period
- +1678.412735353029
- Image
- 82Alkmene (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 5 more facts
Article
82 Alkmene is a main-belt asteroid. Alkmene was discovered by R. Luther on 27 November 1864 and named after Alcmene, the mother of Herakles in Greek mythology. Based on IRAS data, Alkmene is estimated to be about 61 kilometres (38 mi) in diameter. The presence of a satellite around the asteroid has been suggested based on 1985 lightcurve data.
Asteroid Alkmene occulted the apparent magnitude 7.5 star HIP 99229 in the constellation of Capricornus on 18 September 2014 around 06:41 UT (17 September 23:41 PDT) and was centered on Sacramento, CA. Alkmene projected an eclipse shadow that moves at about 3.2 km/s (2 mi/s). Asteroid occultations allow for accurate 2-dimensional mapping of an asteroids silhouette when observed by multiple telescopes separated by about 10 km (6.2 mi).