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
- Max Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 18 January 1922
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ k oʊ n i ə /
- Alternative designations
- 1922 LK
- Observation arc
- 110.24 yr (40266 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.7748 AU (564.70 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.3388 AU (349.88 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 3.0568 AU (457.29 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.34 yr (1952.1 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 294.244 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 11 3.912 / day
- Inclination
- 8.3709°
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q158395
- Follows
- Q112402
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +77.827
- Orbital period
- +1952.063700467304
Show 3 more facts
Article
972 Cohnia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun, one of several such in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 18 January 1908 by a team in Heidelberg led by Max Wolf. In 2007, lightcurve data showed that Cohnia rotates every 18.472 ± 0.004 hours.
It is named after the German astronomer Fritz Cohn.