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
- C. H. F. Peters
- Discovery date
- 16 February 1880
- Pronunciation
- / l aɪ ˈ l iː ə /
- Named after
- Lilaea
- Alternative designations
- A880 DA, 1950 TE 3
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 136.08 yr (49704 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1538 AU (471.80 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.34961 AU (351.497 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.75172 AU (411.651 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.56 yr (1667.3 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 17.95 km/s
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Lilaea
- Followed by
- 214 Aschera
- Follows
- 212 Medea
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +82.096
- Orbital period
- +1669.88498521372
Show 4 more facts
Article
213 Lilaea is a large main belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on February 16, 1880, in Clinton, New York and was named after Lilaea, a Naiad in Greek mythology.
Photometric observations of this asteroid in 1986 gave a light curve with a period of 8.045 ± 0.008 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 ± 0.01 in magnitude. The curve is asymmetrical with two distinct minima. This object has a spectrum that matches an F-type asteroid classification. As with C-type asteroids, its composition is primitive and rich in carbon.