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
- K. Lohnert
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 19 July 1907
- Pronunciation
- / l eɪ ˈ t oʊ n ə /
- Alternative designations
- 1907 ZT
- Observation arc
- 108.74 yr (39718 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3364 AU (499.12 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.6969 AU (403.45 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.0167 AU (451.29 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.24 yr (1913.8 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 253.886 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 11 17.196 / day
- Inclination
- 8.5546°
Article
639 Latona is a minor planet, specifically an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Lohnert on July 19, 1907, at Heidelberg.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during 2007 gave a light curve with a period of 6.139 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.01 in magnitude. This confirms period measurements of about 6.2 hours reported in 1987 and 2001.