| Thor's Helmet Nebula |
Fifteen thousand light-years away in the direction of constellation Canis Major, Thor's Helmet is a complex nebula illuminated by a
bright rare Wolf-Rayet type star. High velocity stellar winds from this energetic star compresses, excites, and illuminates surrounding gas
and dust to create a bubble of illumination, similar to the process seen in the Bubble Nebula. This unusual object is classified as NGC
2359.
This image combined 120 minutes luminance exposures using a Hydrogen-alpha filter with 30 minutes each of red, green and blue
exposures. An ST10XME camera was used through a TEC 140mm refractor at my new observatory. Thor's Helmet is probably too
faint to be imaged well with my telescope, but I couldn't resist trying.
bright rare Wolf-Rayet type star. High velocity stellar winds from this energetic star compresses, excites, and illuminates surrounding gas
and dust to create a bubble of illumination, similar to the process seen in the Bubble Nebula. This unusual object is classified as NGC
2359.
This image combined 120 minutes luminance exposures using a Hydrogen-alpha filter with 30 minutes each of red, green and blue
exposures. An ST10XME camera was used through a TEC 140mm refractor at my new observatory. Thor's Helmet is probably too
faint to be imaged well with my telescope, but I couldn't resist trying.
Music: Ride of the Valkyries
