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
- W. Baade
- Discovery site
- Bergedorf Obs.
- Discovery date
- 15 August 1920
- Pronunciation
- / θ ɜː ˈ r ɪ n dʒ i ə /
- Named after
- Thuringia SS Thuringia (German state and ship)
- Alternative designations
- A920 PA · 1920 HK, 1952 OP · 1974 HP 3
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle ) background
- Observation arc
- 98.68 yr (36,042 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3473 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1546 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.7509 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.56 yr (1,667 d)
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q158108
- Follows
- Q660098
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +53.714
- Orbital period
- +1664.790722577752
- Image
- 000934-asteroid shape model (934) Thüringia.png
Show 4 more facts
Article
934 Thüringia (prov. designation: A920 PA or 1920 HK) is a dark background asteroid, approximately 54 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 15 August 1920, by astronomer Walter Baade at the Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany. The hydrated C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.2 hours and is likely irregular in shape. It was named after the German state of Thuringia. The naming was inspired by the ocean liner SS Thuringia.
Orbit and classification