| "A name like "Thor's Helmet"
seems to imply qualities of power and strength. In the case of
this nebula all of the power and strength is derived from the
very energetic star in the center of the bubble of gas. This
unusual star is classified as being "Wolf-Rayet" type and is
very rare. These stars are incredibly hot (25,000-50,000K) and
expel their outer layers of gas at tremendous velocities
(thousands of kilometers per second). This particular star lives
in an area of the galaxy (at least 10000 light years away) that
contains clouds of interstellar gas. Thus, this Wolf-Rayet star
has blown a bubble of gas in its neighborhood for us to see!
Another example of this phenomena is the
Bubble Nebula
. "
Additional information:
The emission nebula, Thor's Helmet, also known as NGC2359 is
located in the constellation Canis Major near Orion. It is about
15,000 light years distant and approximately 30 light years in
size.
Thought to be in a pre-supernova stage,
the Wolf-Rayet star designated GSC 5407:3417 or HIP 35378
located center of the image (brightest in the helmet), is an
extremely hot red supergiant. The nebula's shape is from this
star interacting with the nearby large molecular cloud.
This has created a large bow shock in
the nebula which gives the helmet it's unique shape. For more
information on Wolf-Rayet stars please see
here. |
