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Credit & Copyright: Adam Block,
El Sauce Obs.
Explanation:
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 BuröinÁs 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
Buröin's galaxy is a mystery and remains a continuing topic of research,
but it likely involves the
accretion of one or more
smaller galaxies.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day