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NGC_2359, Stephen Duffy

NGC_2359

NGC_2359, Stephen Duffy

NGC_2359

Description

NGC 2359, or Thor’s Helmet Nebula, is an emission nebula1 located in the constellation Canis Major, the Great Dog. With its round shape and wing-like filamentary structures, this visually stunning nebula bears a striking resemblance to the helmet worn into battle by Thor, the well-known Norse god of thunder. Thor’s Helmet spans a staggering 30 lightyears across, making it more than 10 times larger than our entire solar system. It lies approximately 3,670 parsecs (11.96 thousand lightyears) away from Earth. It contains several hundred solar masses, At its core is WR7, an extremely hot Wolf-Rayet star2 thought to be over 280,000 times brighter than our Sun and 16 times more massive.
Text from Lowell Observatory Deep Space Spotlight

Taken from McArthur CA, Feb 2016
Scope Skywatcher MN190, Mount Orion Atlas, Camera QSI683
RGB 2.5 hours each filter, Ha/Oiii 4 hours each filter.
Reprocessed March 2023

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NGC_2359, Stephen Duffy