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
- 29 January 1894
- Pronunciation
- French: [ ʒanina ] , German: [ jaːˈniːnaː ]
- Alternative designations
- 1894 AU
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Themis )
- Observation arc
- 122.21 yr (44637 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.65762 AU (547.172 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.63074 AU (393.553 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.14418 AU (470.363 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.58 yr (2036.4 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 77.0719 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 36.422 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q152248
- Follows
- 382 Dodona
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +43.482
- Orbital period
- +2029.803370867374
Show 4 more facts
- P720
Article
383 Janina is a Themistian asteroid, approximately 46 kilometers (29 miles) in diameter. It is spectral B-type and is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous chondritic material.
It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 29 January 1894 in Nice. The reference of the name is unknown, though it is the French name of Ioannina in Greece, as well as a common German woman's name, both of which probably descend from Johannes.