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
- M. F. Wolf , M. Ferrero
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 30 August 1930
- Named after
- unknown
- Alternative designations
- 1930 QH · 1937 VH, 1955 SK 1 · 1955 SR 1
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ) , Flora
- Observation arc
- 86.77 yr (31,691 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.6775 AU
- Perihelion
- 1.9599 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.3187 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.53 yr (1,290 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 155.85 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 1170 Siva
- Follows
- Q136686
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +8.1
- Orbital period
- +1289.479047322412
Show 3 more facts
Article
1169 Alwine, provisional designation 1930 QH, is a Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 August 1930, by German and Italian astronomers Max Wolf and Mario Ferrero at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. Any reference of its name to a person is unknown.
Orbit and classification