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
- C. Jackson
- Discovery site
- Johannesburg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 21 May 1931
- Pronunciation
- / ʃ iː b ə /
- Named after
- Queen of Sheba , (Biblical figure)
- Alternative designations
- 1931 KE · A912 BB
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle )
- Observation arc
- 105.12 yr (38,396 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.1303 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1806 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.6554 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.33 yr (1,581 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 198.47 °
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Queen of Sheba
- Followed by
- Q136919
- Follows
- Q136907
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +25.274
- Orbital period
- +1577.255069442922
Show 4 more facts
- P65
Article
1196 Sheba, provisional designation 1931 KE, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 25 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 May 1931 by astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory, South Africa.
Sheba is a metallic X-type asteroid and orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,581 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as A912 BB at Heidelberg Observatory in 1912. The body's observation arc, however, begins at Johannesburg, four months after its official discovery observation.