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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня NGC 2359: Шлем Тора http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1209559/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Christine and David Smith,
Steve Mandel,
Adam Block
(KPNO
Visitor Program),
NOAO,
AURA,
NSF
Explanation:
(xxxedit and linkxxx)
NGC 2359 is a striking emission nebula
with an impressive
popular name - Thor's Helmet.
Sure, its suggestive winged appearance might lead some to refer
to it as the "duck nebula", but if you were a nebula which name
would you choose?
By any name NGC 2359 is a bubble-like nebula some 30 light-years
across, blown by energetic winds from an extremely
hot star seen near
the center and classified as a Wolf-Rayet star.
Wolf-Rayet stars
are rare massive blue giants which develop
stellar winds with speeds of millions of kilometers per hour.
Interactions with
a nearby large molecular cloud are thought
to have contributed to this nebula's more complex shape and
curved bow-shock structures.
NGC 2359
is about 15,000
light-years distant toward
the constellation
Canis Major.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.