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. Reiss
- Discovery site
- Algiers Obs.
- Discovery date
- 5 December 1931
- Named after
- Algeria (country)
- Alternative designations
- 1931 XD
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer )
- Observation arc
- 84.53 yr (30,873 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.5408 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.7442 AU
- Semi major axis
- 3.1425 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.57 yr (2,035 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 168.11 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 36.84 / day
Article
1213 Algeria (provisional designation 1931 XD) is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 32 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Guy Reiss at Algiers Observatory in 1931, it was named after the North African country of Algeria.
Discovery