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
- 8 October 1887
- Pronunciation
- / ɑː n ə ˈ h iː t ə , æ n ə -/
- Named after
- Anahita
- Alternative designations
- A887 TA, 1926 VG
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 118.40 yr (43246 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.5290 AU (378.33 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.8692 AU (279.63 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.1991 AU (328.98 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.26 yr (1191.2 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 219.26 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 18 8.028 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Anahita
- Followed by
- 271 Penthesilea
- Follows
- Q149966
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +51.4
- Orbital period
- +1190.527976623327
Show 5 more facts
Article
270 Anahita is a stony S-type Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on October 8, 1887, in Clinton, New York, and was named after the Avestan divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita.
In 2001, the asteroid was detected by radar from the Arecibo Observatory at a distance of 0.92 AU. The resulting data yielded an effective diameter of 47 ± 7 km.