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
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 26 April 1917
- Named after
- unknown
- Alternative designations
- A917 HB · 1925 FB, 1957 EO · 1917 BU
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle ) background
- Observation arc
- 102.77 yr (37,538 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1052 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.3031 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.7041 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.45 yr (1,624 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 224.48 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 18.12 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q157526
- Follows
- 867 Kovacia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +50.692
- Orbital period
- +1624.494505550421
Show 4 more facts
Article
868 Lova (prov. designation: A917 HB or 1917 BU) is a large and dark background asteroid, approximately 51 kilometers (32 miles) in diameter, from the central regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory on 26 April 1917. The carbonaceous C-type asteroid (Ch) and has a long rotation period of 41.1 hours and is likely elongated in shape. The origin of the asteroid's name remains unknown.
Orbit and classification