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
- Auguste Charlois
- Discovery date
- March 10 1893
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ dʒ ɔːr dʒ ə / JOR -jə
- Named after
- King George II
- Alternative designations
- 1893 M
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Observation arc
- 114.10 yr (41676 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.1562 AU (472.16 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.2999 AU (344.06 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.7280 AU (408.10 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.51 yr (1645.8 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 323.972 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 13 7.464 / day
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- George II of Great Britain
- Followed by
- 360 Carlova
- Follows
- Q151864
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +43.89
- Orbital period
- +1646.761772207202
Show 5 more facts
- P65
Article
359 Georgia is a typical Main belt asteroid. It is classified as an X-type asteroid.
It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on March 10 1893 in Nice. It was named by the daughter of Felix Klein at a meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1902 held at the Georg August University of Göttingen, where Klein was a professor. It was named after the University's founder King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover.