**Astronomy Picture of the Day**

Raw JSON

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  "id": "14a28fc999a0cdb21e52c867106dc82a45c17d8a9ab2536d7e968067a4771c0a",
  "pubkey": "e85ed75286cb77475776c1007df8c4ff1c9c68eff91c3627347b065c5bf4dc78",
  "created_at": 1779768523,
  "tags": [],
  "content": "**Astronomy Picture of the Day**\n\n26 May 2026\n\n**NGC 3660 and Burçin's Galaxy**\n\nImage: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Ngc3660Burcin_Block_1176.jpg\n\nCredit: Not provided\n\nThe 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 .\n\n#APOD #NGC3660 #BurcinGalaxy #LEDA1000714 #SpiralGalaxy #EllipticalGalaxy\n\nhttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260526.html\n",
  "sig": "379d17e36f04f529705be55f44b06b90b55512edd2c742f498aac84feb2547bc25aca677597fc292b0390d0b0d086a94f3710b34d247f4925e6c7bff4edd3c5c"
}