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/