Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Canis Major (CMa)  ·  Contains:  IC 468  ·  LBN 1040  ·  LBN 1041  ·  NGC 2359  ·  PGC 136794  ·  Sh2-298
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Thors Helmet (NGC 2359), DoubleStarPhotography
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Thors Helmet (NGC 2359)

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Thors Helmet (NGC 2359), DoubleStarPhotography
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Thors Helmet (NGC 2359)

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Description

NGC 2359, also known as Thors Helmet, is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major.

Thor’s Helmet is about 15,000 light years (3,670 parsecs) distant and 30 light years in size. The central star is an extremely hot Wolf-Rayet star WR7 thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution, and has created this interstellar bubble by the force of its “stellar wind”. 

Wolf-Rayet stars have quickly become my favorite type of star due to the wonderful and complex objects they sculpt into the surrounding interstellar gases and dust with their fierce winds!

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