Wallpaper author:
Dale Smalley
27 Feb 2022
Thor's Helmet - NGC2359
Known as Thor's Helmet due to its remarkable resemblance to depictions of the headwear donned by the famed Norse god of thunder and lightning, this nebula is
powered by HD 56925, a highly luminous "Wolf-Rayet" star (seen at the center of the helmet).
NGC 2359 was the first Wolf-Rayet nebula to be discovered. Between 1917 and 1919, Francis Pease studied the nebula at the Mt. Wilson observatory in southern California.
Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across and its distance from Earth is estimated to be about 15,000 light-years.
Dataset from which the image was processed
NGC 2359
18 credit
- Type of target............................................................................................................................Emission Nebula
- Camera............................................................................................................................FLI ProLine PL9000
- Target coordinates............................................................................................................................RA 109.625 Dec -13.2267
- Hemisphere............................................................................................................................Southern
- Telescope location............................................................................................................................Chile
- Transient event............................................................................................................................No
- Observed on............................................................................................................................31 Oct 2019 - 20 Dec 2022
Filter | Avg Exp (s) | Total Exposure | Subframes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 94 | 1h36m | 61 |
| Red | 133 | 2h15m | 61 |
| Blue | 83 | 1h24m | 61 |
| Luminance | 156 | 2h36m | 60 |
| Halpha | 895 | 14h55m | 60 |