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
- Henri Joseph Perrotin
- Discovery date
- 19 May 1874
- Pronunciation
- / t oʊ ˈ l oʊ s ə /
- Named after
- Toulouse (Tolōsa)
- Alternative designations
- A874 KA; 1909 SB
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 110.38 yr (40315 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.8463 AU (425.80 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.05145 AU (306.893 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.44887 AU (366.346 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.83 yr (1399.7 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 18.91 km/s
- Mean anomaly
Article
138 Tolosa is a brightly coloured, stony background asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by French astronomer Henri Joseph Perrotin on 19 May 1874, and named by the Latin and Occitan name ([tɔˈloːsa] and [tuˈluzɔ]) of the French city of Toulouse.
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.45 AU with an eccentricity of 0.16 and an orbital period of 3.83 years. Its orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.2° relative to the plane of the ecliptic. Measurements of its diameter range from 46 to 52 km. It is spinning with a rotation period of 10.1 hours.