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
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Obs.
- Discovery date
- 31 March 1916
- Named after
- unknown
- Alternative designations
- A916 GH · 1930 HC, 1930 HO · 1930 HT, 1916 ZC
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( middle ) background
- Observation arc
- 103.84 yr (37,928 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.3602 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.1833 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.7718 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.61 yr (1,686 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 150.41 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 48.96 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 822 Lalage
- Follows
- Q157265
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +28.856
- Orbital period
- +1690.954229968677
Show 4 more facts
Article
821 Fanny (prov. designation: A916 GH or 1916 ZC) is a dark background asteroid and slow rotator from the central regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 31 March 1916, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The carbonaceous C-type asteroid (Ch) has an exceptionally long rotation period of 236.6 hours and measures approximately 29 kilometers (18 miles) in diameter. Any reference of the asteroid's name to a person is unknown.
Orbit and classification