Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 June 17 [2]A gaseous structure that resembles a hamster wheel sits near the center of the image. Inside is a bright white dwarf star. There is a larger asymmetric gas bubble surrounding the inner nebula. A galaxy sits to the bottom right. The background is composed of foreground and background stars, as well as distant galaxies. Longmore 8: The Hamster Wheel Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, [4]Hanson Text: [5]Keighley Rockcliffe ([6]NASA [7]GSFC, [8]UMBC CSST, [9]CRESST II) Explanation: How did a hamster wheel get into space? The Hamster Wheel Nebula (Longmore 8) was [10]discovered by Andrew Longmore in 1976 as a part of a larger survey of the southern sky. This survey employed several improvements in [11]photographic technology, including the use of [12]highly sensitive film, to capture deeper and fainter objects on [13]plates that were examined [14]by eye and catalogued. [15]The featured image, taken at [16]Observatorio El Sauce in Chile, depicts an intricate wheel structure of glowing hydrogen that was thrown out into space by a [17]dying star and [18]ionized by the leftover [19]white dwarf. This structure was barely visible on the original plate, emphasizing the power of modern telescopes and cameras. Two opposing clumps of red hydrogen gas encased in [20]the blue veil of ionized oxygen hint at the presence of a [21]companion to the bright white dwarf at the wheel’s center! Tomorrow's picture: a supernova remnant? __________________________________________________________________ [22]< | [23]Archive | [24]Submissions | [25]Index | [26]Search | [27]Calendar | [28]RSS | [29]Education | [30]About APOD | [31]Discuss | [32]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell ([36]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [37]Specific rights apply. [38]NASA Web Privacy, [39]Accessibility, [40]Notices; A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2606/hamster.jpg 3. https://ourcolorfulcosmos.com/mazlin/about-me/ 4. https://www.instagram.com/hansonastronomy1/ 5. https://kerockcliffe.com/ 6. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe 7. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/ 8. https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/ 9. https://cresst2.umd.edu/ 10. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1977MNRAS.178..251L 11. https://www.atnf.csiro.au/resources/education/senior-astrophysics/photometry/photographicastro/ 12. http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys373/lectures/catch_plates/kodak_chart.pdf 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190817.html 14. https://en.meming.world/wiki/File:Scared_Hamster.jpg/ 15. https://www.hansonastronomy.com/longmore-8 16. https://help.telescope.live/hc/en-us/articles/360002577798-El-Sauce-Observatory-Chile-CHI 17. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 18. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/i/Ionised+Hydrogen 19. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/dwarfs1.html 20. https://members.pcug.org.au/~stevec/ESO382-63_STXL6303_RC14.htm 21. https://astrobites.org/2022/02/15/planetary-nebulae-the-desolation-of-binaries/ 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260616.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 28. https://apod.com/feed.rss 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 31. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260617 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260618.html 33. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/ 34. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/ 35. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087 36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 39. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 41. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/ 45. http://www.mtu.edu/