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
- Auguste Charlois
- Discovery site
- Nice
- Discovery date
- 5 March 1891
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ n aɪ k iː /
- Named after
- Nike
- Alternative designations
- A891 EB; 1957 LM
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 125.12 yr (45699 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3226 AU (497.05 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.4899 AU (372.48 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.9063 AU (434.78 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.95 yr (1809.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 170.550 °
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Nike
- Followed by
- 308 Polyxo
- Follows
- 306 Unitas
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +61.313
- Orbital period
- +1810.080588446539
Show 4 more facts
- P65
Article
307 Nike is a sizeable asteroid of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by the French astronomer Auguste Charlois on 5 March 1891 while working at the Nice Observatory. Charlois named it after the Greek goddess of victory, as well as the Greek name for the city where it was discovered.
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.91 AU with an eccentricity of 0.14 with an orbital period of 4.95 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 6.13° relative to the plane of the ecliptic. It is classified as a carbon-rich C-type asteroid. Infrared measurements yield a diameter of 55 km.