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
- 23 September 1916
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ dʒ oʊ l iː / JOH -lee
- Named after
- Iole wife of Heracles , ( Greek mythology )
- Alternative designations
- A916 SJ · A903 QA, 1916 AF · 1903 QA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( inner ) , background
- Observation arc
- 116.07 yr (42,394 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.5751 AU
- Perihelion
- 1.8048 AU
- Semi major axis
- 2.1900 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.24 yr (1,184 d)
- Mean anomaly
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 837 Schwarzschilda
- Follows
- Q157338
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +5.757
- Orbital period
- +1183.763345416625
Show 3 more facts
Article
836 Jole (prov. designation: A916 SJ or 1916 AF) is a bright background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 23 September 1916, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The stony S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 9.6 hours and measures approximately 5.8 kilometers (3.6 miles) in diameter. It was named after Iole, wife of Heracles from Greek mythology.
Orbit and classification