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
- C. H. F. Peters
- Discovery date
- 19 September 1865
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ aɪ . oʊ /
- Named after
- Io
- Alternative designations
- A899 LA · A899 UA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle ) , Eunomian interloper
- Adjectives
- Ionian / aɪ ˈ oʊ n i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 151.35 yr (55,280 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.1679 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1379 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.6529 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.32 yr (1,578 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 83.678 °
Article
85 Io is a carbonaceous asteroid in the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 170 kilometers in diameter. It is an identified Eunomian interloper.
Discovery and naming