Q132919

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

V. Albitzkij

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

3 March 1924

Named after

Great Britain , (part of British Isles )

Alternative designations

1924 RE · 1927 YB, 1947 BE · 1948 HB, 1948 JG · 1952 FJ, A910 EB · A917 SP

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

107.06 yr (39,102 days)

Aphelion

3.1065 AU

Perihelion

2.4954 AU

Semi major axis

2.8009 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.69 yr (1,712 days)

Mean anomaly

60.276 °

Mean motion

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Great Britain

Followed by

Q132920

Follows

Q132917

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+60.862

Orbital period

+1710.817358848271