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
- August Kopff
- Discovery date
- 7 March 1907
- Pronunciation
- / juː ˈ f iː m i ə /
- Named after
- Euphemia
- Alternative designations
- 1907 XW; A924 DC
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Eunomia family )
- Observation arc
- 91.87 yr (33557 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.9153 AU (436.12 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.3334 AU (349.07 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.6244 AU (392.60 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.25 yr (1552.9 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 273.57 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Euphemia
- Followed by
- 631 Philippina
- Follows
- Q155969
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +15.542
- Orbital period
- +1553.170350700537
Show 3 more facts
- P61
- August Kopff
- P65
Article
630 Euphemia is a mid-sized Eunomian asteroid.
Photometric observations at the Palmer Divide Observatory during 2005 showed a best fit rotation period of 79.18 ± 0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.2 ± 0.02 in magnitude. However, some uncertainty remains concerning the reliability of this result.