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Thor's Helmut NGC 2359, Smoke_Rise_Observatory
Thor's Helmut NGC 2359
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Thor's Helmut NGC 2359

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Thor's Helmut NGC 2359, Smoke_Rise_Observatory
Thor's Helmut NGC 2359
Powered byPixInsight

Thor's Helmut NGC 2359

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Description

Wikipedia

NGC 2359 (also known as Thor's Helmet) is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 11.96 thousand light years away and 30 light-years in size. The central star is the Wolf-Rayet star WR7, an extremely hot star thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution. It is similar in nature to the Bubble Nebula, but interactions with a nearby large molecular cloud are thought to have contributed to the more complex shape and curved bow-shock structure of Thor's Helmet.

The nebula has an overall bubble shape, but with complex filamentary structures. The nebula contains several hundred solar masses of ionised material, plus several thousand more of unionised gas. It is largely interstellar material swept up by winds from the central star, although some material does appear to be enriched with the products of fusion and is likely to come directly from the star.

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Thor's Helmut NGC 2359, Smoke_Rise_Observatory