Thors Helmet from CFHT
Explanation:
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.
