Q136867

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

J. Comas Solà

Discovery site

Fabra Obs.

Discovery date

30 September 1930

Pronunciation

/ ɡ ɒ θ ˈ l æ n d i ə /

Named after

Catalonia , ( Spanish autonomous community )

Alternative designations

1930 SB · 2016 FU 5 , A917 SK

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Flora

Observation arc

86.62 yr (31,639 days)

Aphelion

2.5856 AU

Perihelion

1.7948 AU

Semi major axis

2.1902 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.24 yr (1,184 days)

Mean anomaly

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Catalonia

Followed by

1189 Terentia

Follows

Q136862

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+12.67

Orbital period

+1184.009520683923

Image

1188Gothlandia (Lightcurve Inversion).png