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
- Raymond Smith Dugan
- Discovery date
- 20 September 1903
- Named after
- Amherst College
- Alternative designations
- 1903 MG; 1938 YO
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 112.26 yr (41003 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.4103 AU (510.17 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.95161 AU (291.957 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.68094 AU (401.063 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.39 yr (1,603.4 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 26.3259 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 28.308 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Amherst College
- Followed by
- Q155062
- Follows
- Q155044
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +65.144
- Mass
- +410
- Orbital period
- +1600.471737177676
- Image
- 516Amherstia (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 4 more facts
Article
516 Amherstia was the 8th asteroid discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan, and was named after Amherst College, his alma mater. Amherstia is a large M-type main belt asteroid, with an estimated diameter of 73 km. It follows an eccentric orbit between Jupiter and Mars, with an orbital period of 4.39 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 13° to the ecliptic.
In 1989, the asteroid was observed from the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, allowing a light curve to be produced that showed an estimated rotation period of 7.49 hours and a brightness variation of 0.25 ± 0.01 in magnitude. On January 14, 2002, Amherstia was observed to occult the seventh-magnitude star SAO 60107 from ten sites in Florida. The measured timing chords were used to estimate a cross-section diameter of 41.9±3.3 km with a generally circular profile. The near infrared spectra of Amherstia suggests a surface consisting of a single mafic silicate with iron–nickel alloy. The infrared albedo is 16%.