Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Canis Major (CMa)  ·  Contains:  IC 468  ·  NGC 2359  ·  Sh2-298
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NGC2359 Thor's Helmet in HaRGB, TWFowler
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NGC2359 Thor's Helmet in HaRGB

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NGC2359 Thor's Helmet in HaRGB, TWFowler
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NGC2359 Thor's Helmet in HaRGB

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Description

Thor's Helmet (NGC2359, Sh2-298 or RCW5) is a complex bubble of nebulosity surrounding Wolf-Rayet star WR7 in Canis Major, about 11,960 light years distant. It is about 30 light years across.

Wolf-Rayet stars are hot and luminous in the last stages of their life, rapidly shedding mass as high speed stellar wind driven by their strong radiation. They rapidly approach the final stage of their lifecycle, a supernova explosion.

WR7 has a surface temperature of about 112,000 Kelvin, and its stellar winds are estimated to have a velocity of 1,545 km/s. Based on measurements of the expansion rate of various components of Thor's Helmet, it age is estimated to be between 78,500 and 236,000 years.

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