Thor’s Helmet Nebula
Thor’s Helmet Nebula (NGC2359) is an emission nebula with an HII region in the constellation Canis Major. The name of this nebula stems from its striking resemblance to the helmet of the famed Norse God of thunder and lightning.The central star is a very hot star believed to be in a pre-supernova stage. This is very much like the Bubble Nebula, but a nearby large molecular cloud’s interactions have contributed to its unique shape.
Specifications:
Designation: NGC2359
Known As: Thor’s Helmet Nebula
Apparent Size: 8′ x 8′
Magnitude (lower is brighter): 10.0
Distance from Earth: 15,000 LY
In the Dark Skies of Chile
The image above was taken in the Bortle 1 sky of Chile. I rented observation time from a Chile telescope to capture this HOO image. The amount of detail and faint dust that the large telescope and pitch black skies captures is amazing.
EQUIPMENT
Telescope: Planewave CDK24
Mount: Mathis MI-1000/1250
Camera: FLI PL 9000
Filters: Ha & OIII
ACQUISITION
Integration Time: 2.67 hrs
HO: 16 x 600sec
BIN: 1×1
Temperature: -30° C
Bortle Scale: 1
CALIBRATION
Darks: 10
Flats: 30
Dark Flats: 30
Offset/Bias: 30
The Canis Major Constellation
Canis Major (The Great Dog) is a constellation in the southern hemisphere. It contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the “dog star”. It is bright because of its proximity to the Solar System. It borders the constellations: Monoceros, Lepus, Columba, and Puppis.
Thor’s Helmet Nebula is located between the dog’s head and the hind legs of the unicorn. Other many star clusters, galaxies, and smaller nebulae located in the Canis Major constellation.
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*General information regarding constellations, galaxies, nebulae, and planets have been sourced from: AstroBackyard, VisibleDark, Wikipedia, EarthSky, and NASA.