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 1930
- Named after
- unknown
- Alternative designations
- 1930 DC · 1961 VB
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ) , Nysa
- Observation arc
- 86.98 yr (31,770 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.6934 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.0732 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.3833 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.68 yr (1,344 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 243.60 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 16 4.44 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q136845
- Follows
- Q136833
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +23.751
- Orbital period
- +1344.287580630282
Show 3 more facts
Article
1183 Jutta, provisional designation 1930 DC, is a dark Nysian asteroid and slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory on 22 February 1930. Any reference of its name to a person is unknown.
Classification and orbit