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
- Franz Kaiser
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 7 January 1913
- Pronunciation
- / æ l ə ˈ ɡ æ s t ə /
- Named after
- Gau-Algesheim
- Alternative designations
- 1913 QO
- Observation arc
- 103.3 yr (37,720 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.2040 AU (479.31 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.8698 AU (429.32 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.0369 AU (454.31 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.29 yr (1,933.1 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 146.545 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 11 10.428 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Gau-Algesheim
- Followed by
- Q156850
- Follows
- Q156840
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +62.79
- Orbital period
- +1931.61280947573
Show 4 more facts
- P61
- Franz Kaiser
- P65
Article
738 Alagasta (/æləˈɡæstə/) is a main belt asteroid. It was discovered from Heidelberg on 7 January 1913 by German astronomer Franz Kaiser. The asteroid was named in honor of Gau-Algesheim, previously Alaghastesheim, which is the home city of the discoverer's family. This body is orbiting at a distance of 3.04 AU with a period of 5.29 years and an eccentricity of 0.055. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.53° to the plane of the ecliptic.
Photometric measurements made of the asteroid during 2015 produced a light curve that showed a rotation period of 18.86±0.01 h with a brightness variation of 0.11 in magnitude. The asteroid is roughly 63 km in diameter and has a low albedo.