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
- James Craig Watson
- Discovery site
- Angell Hall Observatory
- Discovery date
- 16 August 1873
- Pronunciation
- / s aɪ ˈ r iː n iː /
- Named after
- Cyrene (nymph)
- Alternative designations
- A873 QA · A910 NB · 1936 HO · 1948 QC · 1959 UR
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Cyrenean / s aɪ r ɪ ˈ n iː ə n / , Cyrenian / s aɪ ˈ r iː n i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 152.13 yr (55566 d)
- Aphelion
- 7.2245 AU (1,080.77 Gm)
- Perihelion
- 2.6736 AU (399.96 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.0742 AU (459.89 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Cyrene
- Followed by
- 134 Sophrosyne
- Follows
- 132 Aethra
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +72.175
- Mass
- +310000000000000000
- Orbital period
- +1968.772624943664
Show 5 more facts
Article
133 Cyrene is a fairly large and very bright asteroid located in the main asteroid belt. It was discovered by J. C. Watson on 16 August 1873 at Angell Hall Observatory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and named after Cyrene, a nymph, daughter of king Hypseus and beloved of Apollo in Greek mythology. It is classified as an S-type asteroid based upon its spectrum. It is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.
Discovery and naming