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
- Joel Hastings Metcalf
- Discovery site
- Winchester, Massachusetts
- Discovery date
- 7 February 1913
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ m æ n d ə v ɪ l /
- Alternative designations
- 1913 QR
- Adjectives
- Mandevillean / m æ n d ə ˈ v ɪ l i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 97.78 yr (35714 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1299 AU (468.23 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.3445 AU (350.73 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.7372 AU (409.48 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.53 yr (1654.0 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 276.654 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q156856
- Follows
- Q156848
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +104.517
- Orbital period
- +1656.548923307745
Show 4 more facts
- P65
- Winchester
- P720
Article
739 Mandeville is a minor planet located in the asteroid belt. Its absolute magnitude is 8.50. It was discovered on 7 February 1913 by Joel Hastings Metcalf in Winchester, Massachusetts, and assigned the provisional code 1913 QR. A later, duplicate discovery was assigned the code 1963 HE.
The orbital characteristics are calculated from the epoch of 4 January 2010, at which time 739 Mandeville had an orbital period of 1656 days and an orbital axis of 2.74 AU with eccentricity 0.14. Thus, its minimum distance from the sun was 2.35 and its maximum was 3.13. Its orbital inclination was found to be 20.71°, and its mean anomaly 116.58°.