NGC 2359 nebula. Optical image of the Wolf-Rayet emission nebula NGC 2359, also known as Thor's Helmet. This nebula lies around 40,000 light years fro

---

NGC 2359 nebula. Optical image of the Wolf-Rayet emission nebula NGC 2359, also known as Thor's Helmet. This nebula lies around 40,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major. A Wolf-Rayet nebula is formed by the ejection of glowing, ionised gas from a hot, central star. These Wolf-Rayet stars lose mass 100 times faster than stars of comparable luminosity and may be a million times more luminous than the Sun. The interaction of the ejected gas with interstellar matter forms a bubble around the star, which glows when ionised by the star's radiation.

---

Size: 4593px × 4606px
Photo credit: © Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 2359, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, gas, gasses, helmet, image, ionisation, ionised, nebula, ngc, observation, optical, radiation, rayet, space, star, starry, stars, thors, thorss, wolf, wolf-rayet