Q136880

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

G. Neujmin

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

20 September 1930

Named after

Pelageya Shajn , (Soviet–Russian astronomer)

Alternative designations

1930 SL · 1928 DP, 1938 YA · 1953 VB, 1953 XP · A909 BC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Nysa

Observation arc

108.44 yr (39,609 days)

Aphelion

2.7530 AU

Perihelion

2.1096 AU

Semi major axis

2.4313 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.79 yr (1,385 days)

Mean anomaly

284.95 °

Mean motion

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Pelageya Shajn

Followed by

Q136889

Follows

1189 Terentia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+17.923

Orbital period

+1384.787723935418