Thor's Helmet (NGC2359) in HOO

Thor’s Helmet is a bubble-shaped nebula created by the strong stellar winds from a massive Wolf-Rayet star at its center, named WR 7. Wolf-Rayet stars are hot, massive stars nearing the end of their life cycles, often destined to explode as supernovae. The nebula’s unique structure and glowing appearance result from the interaction of these winds with the surrounding molecular cloud, which also causes the gas to ionize and emit light.