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Credit & Copyright: Josep Drudis,
Christian Sasse
Explanation:
Thor not only has
his own day
(Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens.
Popularly called Thor's Helmet,
NGC 2359
is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with
wing-like
appendages.
Heroically sized even for a
Norse god,
Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across.
In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like
an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast
wind from the bright, massive
star
near the bubble's center.
Known as a
Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely
hot giant thought to be in a brief,
pre-supernova stage of
evolution.
NGC 2359 is located about 15,000
light-years away toward the constellation of the
Great Overdog.
This sharp image
is a combination of deep images taken in light emitted by
hydrogen (red) and
oxygen
(blue).
The star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to
explode in a spectacular
supernova sometime within the next few thousand years.
Sky Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 2359 - Wolf-Rayet star
Publications with words: NGC 2359 - Wolf-Rayet star
See also:
- APOD: 2025 November 24 Á Apep: Unusual Dust Shells from Webb
- APOD: 2025 March 17 Á Thors Helmet
- APOD: 2025 February 18 Á Thors Helmet versus the Seagull
- APOD: 2025 February 3 Á Wolf Rayet Star 124: Stellar Wind Machine
- APOD: 2025 January 29 Á Dust Shells around WR 140 from Webb
- Sharpless 308: The Dolphin Head Nebula
- APOD: 2024 January 9 Á Thors Helmet