Q136581

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

22 February 1928

Named after

unknown

Alternative designations

1928 DA · 1935 FY, 1938 DA · 1953 RC 1 , 1955 FW 1 · 1973 QC 2

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background

Observation arc

88.76 yr (32,418 days)

Aphelion

2.3414 AU

Perihelion

2.1329 AU

Semi major axis

2.2372 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.35 yr (1,222 days)

Mean anomaly

326.67 °

Mean motion

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

Q136582

Follows

1155 Aënna

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+6.831

Orbital period

+1221.902870184637