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
- P. P. Henry
- Discovery date
- 26 January 1876
- Pronunciation
- / ɪ ˈ m ɪ l i ə /
- Named after
- Via Aemilia
- Alternative designations
- A876 BA; 1959 EG 1
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Hygiea family )
- Adjectives
- Aemilian / ɪ ˈ m ɪ l i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 112.24 yr (40996 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.4377 AU (514.27 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.76896 AU (414.231 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1033 AU (464.25 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.47 yr (1996.8 d )
- Average orbital speed
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Via Aemilia
- Followed by
- 160 Una
- Follows
- 158 Koronis
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +125.236
- Mass
- +1.4
- Orbital period
- +2001.339205375071
Show 4 more facts
Article
159 Aemilia is a large main-belt asteroid. Aemilia was discovered by the French brothers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on January 26, 1876. The credit for this discovery was given to Paul. It is probably named after the Via Aemilia, a Roman road in Italy that runs from Piacenza to Rimini.
This slowly rotating, dark asteroid has a primitive carbonaceous composition, based upon its classification as a C-type asteroid. Photometric observations made in 2006 gave a rotation period of about 25 hours. Subsequent observations made at the Oakley Observatory in Terre Haute, Indiana found a light curve period of 16.37 ± 0.02 hours, with variation in brightness of 0.24 ± 0.04 in magnitude.