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 August 1921
- Alternative designations
- 1905 UN · 1920 GC · 1921 PC · 1943 PE · 1952 BE 2
- Observation arc
- 109.65 yr (40051 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.6711 AU (549.19 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.5915 AU (387.68 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.1313 AU (468.44 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.54 yr (2023.9 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 34.454 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 10 40.332 / day
- Inclination
- 1.1694°
- Longitude of ascending node
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q158259
- Follows
- Q158249
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +58.771
- Orbital period
- +2021.228254339472
Show 4 more facts
Article
954 Li is a main belt asteroid and member of the Themis family. It was discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth on 4 August 1921 and was named after his wife Lina Alstede Reinmuth, who also had 955 Alstede named after her. Classified as an FCX-type asteroid under the Tholen classification scheme, Li's spectrum may indicate aqueous alteration. The asteroid is estimated to be around 52 kilometres (32 mi) in size, and observations of its lightcurve—variations in its observed brightness—indicate that it rotates once every 7.2 hours.
Notes