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
- S. Belyavskyj
- Discovery site
- Simeiz Obs.
- Discovery date
- 18 May 1922
- Named after
- Aida Minaevna, (discoverer's friend)
- Alternative designations
- 1922 LY · 1929 YA, 1946 QD · 1966 BD, A906 VB · A923 YA
- Minor planet category
- main-belt · ( outer ) , background
- Observation arc
- 110.15 yr (40,232 days)
- Aphelion
- 3.9462 AU
- Perihelion
- 2.4492 AU
- Semi major axis
- 3.1977 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.72 yr (2,089 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 119.30 °
- Mean motion
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 979 Ilsewa
- Follows
- Q158409
- Parent body
- Sun
- Diameter
- +92.105
- Orbital period
- +2097.275782377396
Show 4 more facts
- P720
- P-type asteroid
- P6259
Article
978 Aidamina, provisional designation 1922 LY, is a dark background asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 79 kilometers (49 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by astronomer Sergey Belyavsky in 1922, and later named after Aida Minaevna, a friend of the discoverer's family.
Discovery