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
- 9 October 1931
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ t ɪ l i ə /
- Named after
- Tilia ( flowering plant )
- Alternative designations
- 1931 TP 1 · 1936 MC, 1942 PH · 1948 PT, 1951 AC · 1951 CM, 1973 YW 3 · 1975 FP, 1976 KB 1 · 1977 RC 4 , 1978 VK 4
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) , Themis
- Observation arc
- 85.74 yr (31,318 d )
- Aphelion
- 3.7569 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.6918 AU
- Semi major axis
- 3.2243 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.79 yr (2,115 days)
- Mean anomaly
Article
1229 Tilia /ˈtɪliə/ is a dark Themistian asteroid from the outermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 28 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 October 1931, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany, and given the provisional designation 1931 TP1. The asteroid was named for the genus of trees, Tilia (lime tree, linden, basswood).
Orbit and classification