Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Rusterholz (CXIELO Observatory)
Explanation: This helmet-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages is popularly called Thor's Helmet. Heroically sized even for a
Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the helmet is actually more like
an interstellar bubble, blown as a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through a surrounding molecular cloud. Known as a
Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-
supernovastage of evolution. Cataloged as NGC 2359, the
nebula is located about 15,000 light-years away in the constellation
Canis Major. The
sharp image, made using broadband and narrowband filters, captures striking details of
the nebula's filamentary structures. It shows off a blue-green color from strong emission
due to oxygenatoms in the glowing gas.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar