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
- 13 October 1895
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ f eɪ m ə /
- Alternative designations
- 1895 CD
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 109.59 yr (40029 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.6216 AU (541.78 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.71757 AU (406.543 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1696 AU (474.17 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.64 yr (2061.1 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 148.91 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 28.776 / day
- Inclination
- 9.0794°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Pheme
- Followed by
- 409 Aspasia
- Follows
- 407 Arachne
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +35.62
- Orbital period
- +2056.248991284443
Show 3 more facts
- P61
- Max Wolf
- P65
Article
408 Fama is a typical main belt asteroid in orbit around the Sun. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf on 13 October 1895 in Heidelberg.
Photometric observations at the Oakley Observatory in Terre Haute, Indiana, during 2007 were used to build a light curve for this asteroid. The asteroid displayed a rotation period of 12.19 ± 0.02 hours and a brightness variation of 0.15 ± 0.03 in magnitude.