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
Small body data
9254 Shunkai (2151 T-1)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 3.467 km
- Albedo
- 0.276
- Absolute magnitude
- 14.110 H
- Earth MOID
- 0.933 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Shibukawa Shunkai
- Followed by
- 9255 Inoutadataka
- Follows
- 9253 Oberth
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +3.467
- Orbital period
- +1326.870134057113
Show 3 more facts
- P61
- Tom Gehrels
- P65
Connections
Categories
Astronomical objects discovered in 1971Background asteroidsDiscoveries by Cornelis Johannes van HoutenDiscoveries by Ingrid van Houten-GroeneveldDiscoveries by the Palomar–Leiden Trojan-1 surveyDiscoveries by Tom GehrelsMinor planet object redirects (numbered)Named minor planetsUnprintworthy redirects