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 date
- 8 September 1891
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Themis )
- Observation arc
- 124.27 yr (45391 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.61240 AU (540.407 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.7458 AU (410.77 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1791 AU (475.59 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.67 yr (2070.4 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 315.703 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 25.968 / day
- Inclination
- 2.3390°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 123.921°
- Argument of perihelion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 317 Roxane
- Follows
- 315 Constantia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +56.067
- Orbital period
- +2075.704045479145
Show 3 more facts
- P6259
Article
316 Goberta is a mid-sized Themistian asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois on 8 September 1891 in Nice.
The light curve of 316 Goberta shows a periodicity of 8.605 ± 0.01 hours, during which time the brightness of the object varies by 0.20 ± 0.05 in magnitude.