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
- Gyllenberg, K., Bergedorf
- Discovery date
- 26 November 1916
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 99.23 yr (36245 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.6963 AU (552.96 Gm ) (Q)
- Perihelion
- 2.5562 AU (382.40 Gm) (q)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1262 AU (467.67 Gm) (a)
- Eccentricity
- 0.18235 (e)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.53 yr (2019.0 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 27.575 ° (M)
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 41.916 / day (n)
- Inclination
- 0.26427° (i)
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 847 Agnia
- Follows
- 845 Naëma
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +52.41
- Mass
- +150
- Orbital period
- +2026.812774827819
Show 4 more facts
Article
846 Lipperta is a slowly rotating Themistian asteroid located in the asteroid belt at a distance of 3.1 AU. It has a slow rotation period of 1641 hours making it one of the slowest rotating objects in the solar system discovered.
Based on lightcurve studies, Lipperta has a rotation period of 1641 hours, but this figure is based on less than full coverage, so that the period may be wrong by 30 percent. The lack of variation in brightness could be caused by (a) very slow rotation, (b) near pole-on viewing aspect, or (c) a spherical body with uniform albedo.