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
- K. Reinmuth
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 4 October 1920
- Alternative designations
- 1920 HR; 1930 QP;, 1957 QE; 1957 UU
- Observation arc
- 95.52 yr (34889 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.6449 AU (395.67 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.8501 AU (276.77 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.2475 AU (336.22 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.37 yr (1230.7 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 189.16 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 17 33.072 / day
- Inclination
- 2.5864°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q158137
- Follows
- Q158122
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +10.39
- Orbital period
- +1231.023345185844
Show 4 more facts
Article
939 Isberga is a background asteroid from the inner asteroid belt near the region of the Flora family. It was discovered from Heidelberg on 4 October 1920 by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth. As was his common practice, Reinmuth gave the asteroid a feminine name without reference to any specific person.
Isberga rotates quickly, with a period of 2.9173 hours. It is also suspected to be a binary asteroid, due to a second periodicity observed in its lightcurve from 24 Feb to 4 Mar 2006. The secondary object has an orbital period of 26.8 hours, but its size is undetermined.