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
- Luigi Carnera
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Observatory
- Discovery date
- 21 April 1901
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ k ɪ l i ə /
- Named after
- Kiel
- Alternative designations
Article
470 Kilia /ˈkɪliə/ (1901 GJ) is a 27 km main-belt asteroid discovered on 21 April 1901 by Luigi Carnera at Heidelberg, the 470th asteroid discovered. It was one of the 16 asteroid discoveries made by Carnera.
Photometric observations of this asteroid in 2021 were used to produce a light curve showing a rotation period of 297.655±0.012 h with a brightness amplitude of 0.40±0.02 in magnitude.