Thor's Helmet, NGC 2359

December 2024

Imaging: TS130 apo, ZWO ASI2600MC (100 gain, -10C), LeNh
Subs: 130x180s (6h), darks, flats, and darkflats
Software: NINA, Phd2, PixInsight, BlurXT, NoiseXt, StarXT

(Additional notes below)

Gallery

Notes

This is NGC 2359, an emission nebula approximately 12K LY from us. It is nicknamed Thor's Helmet, the reason for which should be easily clear. According to Wikipedia, the central star is a Wolf-Rayet star which we believe to be in a pre-supernova stage (and, hence, extremely hot even by star standards). The structure is largely interstellar gas marshalled by the winds from the central star.

I have wanted to capture this object for several years now, due to its rather unique shape. This final attempt actually started back in January 2024. Bad weather interrupted the project and then it was no longer visible from my location. It came back around in November and I continued, before equipment issues caused another interruption. It was only over the last few days that I managed to add some nights of imaging to aggregate enough for this image.