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
- Paul Henry and Prosper Henry
- Discovery date
- 5 November 1872
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ v ɛ l ɪ d ə /
- Named after
- Veleda
- Alternative designations
- A872 VA; 1949 YF;, 1950 BD 1
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Aphelion
- 403.523 Gm (2.697 AU)
- Perihelion
- 326.153 Gm (2.180 AU)
- Semi major axis
- 364.816 Gm (2.439 AU)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1,391.107 days (3.81 yr)
- Mean anomaly
- 117.027°
- Inclination
- 2.92451°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Veleda
- Followed by
- 127 Johanna
- Follows
- 125 Liberatrix
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +44.82
- Orbital period
- +1392.539480086809
Show 4 more facts
- P65
Article
126 Velleda is a main-belt asteroid. It is probably a rather typical, albeit sizable, S-type asteroid. This asteroid was named for Veleda, a priestess and prophet of the Germanic tribe of the Bructeri. It was discovered by Paul Henry on 5 November 1872, in Paris, France. It was his first credited discovery. He and his brother Prosper Henry discovered a total of 14 asteroids.
This body is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.44 AU with a period of 3.81 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.11. The orbital plane is inclined by 2.9° to the plane of the ecliptic. It has a cross-section diameter of ~45 km. This asteroid has had multiple studies of its rotation period, yielding an adopted period of 5.3672 h. During each rotation the brightness varies by 0.22 magnitudes.