ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a beautiful image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula.
The Thor’s Helmet Nebula, also known as NGC 2359, as seen by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (ESO / Brigitte Bailleul)
On the morning of October 5, 2012, for the first time ever, observations with the VLT were made of an object chosen by the public.
Brigitte Bailleul, the winner of the Tweet Your Way to the VLT! competition, pointed the telescope towards the spectacular Thor’s Helmet Nebula and the observations were broadcast live over the Internet.
The Thor’s Helmet Nebula, also known as NGC 2359, lies in the constellation of Canis Major. It is approximately 15,000 light-years away and 30 light years in size.
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.
The helmet is a cosmic bubble, blown as the wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble’s center sweeps through the surrounding molecular cloud.
