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
- 17 December 1905
- Pronunciation
- / s ə ˈ l iː n iː /
- Alternative designations
- 1905 SE
- Observation arc
- 110.29 yr (40283 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.4971 AU (523.16 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.9628 AU (443.23 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.2300 AU (483.20 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.81 yr (2120.3 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 45.310 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 11.244 / day
- Inclination
- 3.6614°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Selene
- Followed by
- 581 Tauntonia
- Follows
- Q155655
- Parent body
- Sun
- Diameter
- +48.204
- Orbital period
- +2119.021172718187
Show 3 more facts
Article
580 Selene is a minor planet orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt. The name Selene is that of an ancient Greek goddess of the Moon. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid's provisional designation 1905 SE.
This body orbits the Sun nearly midway between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The orbital eccentricity is slightly lower than that of Mars. Based on its light curve, Selene has an estimated rotation period of 0.3947±0.0004 days, or just under 9.5 hours. During each rotation, the apparent magnitude varies by 0.27. The approximate diameter of this asteroid is 46 km. (Some sources list a diameter of up to 56 km.) The albedo is about 7%, comparable to that of the Earth's Moon.