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
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 13 March 1905
- Pronunciation
- / d ɛ ˈ l aɪ l ə / , German: [ deːliːlaː ]
- Alternative designations
- 1905 QF
- Observation arc
- 111.10 yr (40580 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1947 AU (477.92 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.3053 AU (344.87 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.7500 AU (411.39 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.56 yr (1665.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 187.50 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 58.032 / day
- Inclination
- 8.4698°
Article
560 Delila is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was named after the biblical character Delilah in Saint-Saëns's opera Samson et Dalila, which was first performed in German translation.
References