Thor's Helmet
Thor's Helmet, also known as NGC 2359, is an emission nebula located approximately 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. Spanning about 30 light-years, this helmet-shaped cosmic cloud is formed by the powerful stellar winds from a central Wolf-Rayet star, which sculpt the surrounding molecular cloud into a bubble-like structure.
Source: apod.nasa.gov
APODs including "Thor's Helmet"
Thor's Helmet
09/06/2026
Thor not only has his own day (Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, NGC 2359 is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution. NGC 2359 is located about 15,000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Great Overdog. This sharp image is a combination of deep images taken in light emitted by hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue). The star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to explode in a spectacular supernova sometime within the next few thousand years. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)