SOCO IMAGE GALLERY


 

NGC 2359   Thor's Helmet

NGC 2359 is an emission nebula located within the Winter Milky Way stream in the constellation Canis Major. The name "Thor's Helmet" comes from the appearance of the nebula, which some consider to look like the stereotypic Viking helmet with wings stretching up on each side of the main part of the helmet. The bubble-like central structure of the nebula is an expanding shell of glowing gases blown out by the Wolf-Rayet star WR7 (HD 56925). This is the bright star near the center of the bubble. Interactions of the outrushing gas with neighboring molecular clouds produce the "wings" and other streamer-like structures of the nebula. The nebula is about 30 LY across and lies at a distance of around 11,960 LY. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1785.

Date(s) Acquired: 22, 23 January 2017
Telescope: Orion 120mm EON Apochromatic Refractor
Camera: QSI Model 583 with TeleVue 2X PowerMate

 

   Exposure Time (min) 
   Number of Exposures
   RGB
   1.5
   Hα
   15
   Hβ
   15
   OIII
   15
   RGB
   16
   Hα
   6
   Hβ
   6
   OIII
   6

 

Processing:
Master red, green, blue, Hα, Hβ and OIII images created using SuperSIAM.
Hybrid Master red, green and blue images created using Basic Processing Procedure II.
Color composite image created using Basic Processing Procedure III.
Color composite image contrast-stretched using Adobe Photoshop.




 

 

HOMEReturn to SOCO Image Gallery HOMEReturn to SOCO Main Page

Questions or comments? Email SOCO@cat-star.org