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 site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 18 January 1909
- Alternative designations
- 1909 FR
- Observation arc
- 109.68 yr (40062 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1092 AU (465.13 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.8043 AU (419.52 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.9568 AU (442.33 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.08 yr (1857.1 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 349.034 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 11 37.86 / day
- Inclination
- 8.4812°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 272.799°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q156436
- Follows
- Q114615
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +32.403
- Orbital period
- +1859.381282888927
Show 4 more facts
Article
677 Aaltje is a main-belt minor planet orbiting the Sun, discovered by August Kopff at Heidelberg on January 18, 1909. It was named after the Dutch singer Aaltje Noordewier-Reddingius.
This object has a geometric albedo of 0.2794. Photometric observations during 2008 showed a rotation period of 16.6076 ± 0.0006 hours and a brightness variation of 0.30 ± 0.02 in magnitude.