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
- Joel Hastings Metcalf
- Discovery site
- Taunton, Massachusetts
- Discovery date
- 21 October 1908
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ æ d ə l eɪ d /
- Alternative designations
- 1908 EKa; 1930 FX;, 1937 JG; 1955 SE1;, 1955 UF
- Observation arc
- 107.13 yr (39129 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.4746 AU (370.19 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.0157 AU (301.54 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.2452 AU (335.88 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.36 yr (1228.8 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 311.640 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 17 34.728 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
- Followed by
- 526 Jena
- Follows
- Q155154
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +9.326
- Orbital period
- +1228.948137181977
Show 4 more facts
- P65
Article
525 Adelaide is an S-type asteroid belonging to the Flora family in the Main Belt. It was discovered 21 October 1908 by Joel Hastings Metcalf.
Previously, the object A904 EB, discovered 14 March 1904 by Max Wolf, had been named 525 Adelaide but was subsequently lost. When it was rediscovered 3 October 1930 by Sylvain Arend as 1930 TA, it was named 1171 Rusthawelia. Some 28 years passed before the two objects were realized to be the same. 1930 TA retained the name Rusthawelia (and discovery credited to Arend); the name 525 Adelaide was reused for the object 1908 EKa.