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
- Max Wolf
- Discovery date
- 1 March 1894
- Named after
- Ilmatar
- Alternative designations
- 1894 AX
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 122.12 yr (44604 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.19998 AU (478.710 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.50226 AU (374.333 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.85112 AU (426.521 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.81 yr (1758.4 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 166.647 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 17.024 / day
- Inclination
- 13.5514°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Ilmatar
- Followed by
- 386 Siegena
- Follows
- Q152248
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +85.837
- Orbital period
- +1755.166707842953
Show 4 more facts
Article
385 Ilmatar is a large main belt asteroid.
It was discovered by Max Wolf on March 1, 1894, in Heidelberg. It was named after Ilmatar, virgin spirit of the air from the Finnish epic Kalevala. Its mass has been estimated as (1.039 ± 0.515/0.201)×10 kg. Its rotation is 62.35 hr.