Thor’s Helmet
The distinctive shape of the nebula NGC 2359 has led to it also being known as Thor's Helmet, resembling the headgear of the Norse God (and Marvel superhero).
Around 11 thousand light years away, the overall bubble shape is mainly due to interstellar material swept up by the winds of the nebula's central star Wolf-Rayet, an extremely hot giant thought to be in a pre-supernova stage. This stunning image is one of the shortlisted pictures for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition organised by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. The awards will be announced on 17 September.
Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359) © Adam Block (USA)
Related Content
Maths award adds up to nearly £2.8 mill for exchange research
Two of Sweden’s leading institutions have donated the equivalent of £2.78 million to fund 16 mathematicians for work ranging from …
Collaborators apply intelligence to create smart telescopes
Britain’s Hartree Centre facility has teamed with one of Africa’s leading astronomical institutions to develop an ‘intelligent observatory’ programme featuring …
UK built detector components arrive in US for flagship neutrino experiment
Four ‘building-sized’ components which will play an essential role in the UK contribution to an ambitious international physics project have …
