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 December 26 2009  NGC 2359 aka Thor's Helmet |
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NGC 2359 (also known as Thor's Helmet) is a emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 15,000 light-years away and 30 light years in size. 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. It is similar in nature to the Bubble Nebula, 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.
Wolf-Rayet stars are evolved, massive stars (over 20 solar masses), which are losing mass rapidly by means of a very strong stellar wind, with speeds up to 2000 km/s. surface temperatures in the range of 25,000K to 50,000K
There are about 230 Wolf-Rayets are known in our own Milky Way Galaxy, about 100 are known in the Large Magellanic Cloud, while only 12 have been identified in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
From Australia via the GRAS.
RCOS 12.5 + ST8 @ -10ºC.
Only Ha and OIII. Processed as a RGB image: R=Ha; sG=Ha+OIII; B=OIII.
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| Submitted by: Paulo Lobao (paulobao) | Location: Moorook, Australia G9 | Date: November 27 2009 |
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December 26 2009
Views: 1274
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