Q26772

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

C. Jackson

Discovery site

Johannesburg Obs.

Discovery date

28 April 1932

Named after

Zambezi basin , (southern Africa)

Alternative designations

1932 HL · 1947 TE, 1948 AC · 1967 EF, A908 BF

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

109.42 yr (39,966 days)

Aphelion

3.2569 AU

Perihelion

2.2201 AU

Semi major axis

2.7385 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.53 yr (1,655 days)

Mean anomaly

139.42 °

Mean motion

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Zambezi River

Followed by

1243 Pamela

Follows

Q137259

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

+47.594

Orbital period

+1652.414767919027