NGC 2359 (also known as Thor’s Helmet) is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 11.96 thousand light years away and 30 light-years in size. The central star is the Wolf-Rayet star WR7, an extremely hot star thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution. It is similar in nature to the Bubble Nebula, but interactions with a nearby large molecular cloud are thought to have contributed to the more complex shape and curved bow-shock structure of Thor’s Helmet.
The nebula has an overall bubble shape, but with complex filamentary structures. The nebula contains several hundred solar masses of ionised material, plus several thousand more of unionised gas. It is largely interstellar material swept up by winds from the central star, although some material does appear to be enriched with the products of fusion and is likely to come directly from the star.
The expansion rate of different portions of the nebula varies from 10 km/s to at least 30 km/s, leading to age estimates of 78,500 – 236,000 years.
WR 7 (HD 56925) is a Wolf–Rayet star at the centre of NGC 2359. Assuming a distance of 4.8 kiloparsecs (15,600 light-years), this star is calculated to be 280,000 times brighter than our Sun] 16 times more massive, and 1.41 times larger with a surface temperature of 112,000 K.
Stars of its kind are characterised by a rapid loss of stellar mass, driven by chemically enriched high-speed stellar winds. It is estimated that it loses mass at the rate of 7×10−5 solar masses each year through winds of 1,545 km/s.
NGC 2359, Thor’s Helmet
NGC 2359 (also known as Thor’s Helmet) is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 11.96 thousand light years away and 30 light-years in size. The central star is the Wolf-Rayet star WR7, an extremely hot star thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution. It is similar in nature to the Bubble Nebula, but interactions with a nearby large molecular cloud are thought to have contributed to the more complex shape and curved bow-shock structure of Thor’s Helmet.
The nebula has an overall bubble shape, but with complex filamentary structures. The nebula contains several hundred solar masses of ionised material, plus several thousand more of unionised gas. It is largely interstellar material swept up by winds from the central star, although some material does appear to be enriched with the products of fusion and is likely to come directly from the star.
The expansion rate of different portions of the nebula varies from 10 km/s to at least 30 km/s, leading to age estimates of 78,500 – 236,000 years.
WR 7 (HD 56925) is a Wolf–Rayet star at the centre of NGC 2359. Assuming a distance of 4.8 kiloparsecs (15,600 light-years), this star is calculated to be 280,000 times brighter than our Sun] 16 times more massive, and 1.41 times larger with a surface temperature of 112,000 K.
Stars of its kind are characterised by a rapid loss of stellar mass, driven by chemically enriched high-speed stellar winds. It is estimated that it loses mass at the rate of 7×10−5 solar masses each year through winds of 1,545 km/s.
Photographed with APO 107mm refractor telescope and Atik 360EX monochrome CCD camera at Hammarby gård in February 2020. Exposure was 56min Ha, 10min red, 44min OIII, and 10 min blue. OIII+blue used as both blue and green channel in the processed picture. Located only 10 degrees above the southern horizon.
NGC 2359, Thor’s Helmet Nebula
Photographed with the 94 mm APO refractor telescope and ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Åva, February 5th 2025. Exposure was 40 * 3 min with IDAS LPS P3 light pollution filter under a half moon. Postprocessing in Pixinsight and Photoshop.
NGC 2359, Thor’s Helmet Nebula
Photographed with the 94 mm APO refractor telescope and ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Åva, February 5th 2025. Exposure was 40 * 3 min with IDAS LPS P3 light pollution filter under a half moon. Postprocessing in Pixinsight and Photoshop.
