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
- 17 August 1936
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ eɪ dʒ æ k s /
- Named after
- Ajax (Greek mythology)
- Alternative designations
- 1936 QW
- Minor planet category
- Jupiter trojan , Greek · background
- Adjectives
- Ajantian / ə ˈ dʒ æ n t i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 81.76 yr (29,864 d)
- Aphelion
- 5.9044 AU
- Perihelion
- 4.6992 AU
- Semi major axis
- 5.3018 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 12.21 yr (4,459 d)
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Ajax the Great
- Followed by
- 1405 Sibelius
- Follows
- Q138797
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +83.99
- Orbital period
- +4435.52638672312
- Image
- 001404-asteroid shape model (1404) Ajax.png
Show 3 more facts
Article
1404 Ajax /ˈeɪdʒæks/ is a carbonaceous Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 83 kilometers (52 miles) kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 August 1936, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany, and named after the legendary warrior Ajax from Greek mythology. The assumed C-type asteroid belongs to the 40 largest Jupiter trojans and has a longer than average rotation period of 29.4 hours.
Orbit and classification