Thors Helmet, NGC 2359

Noirlab_noaoann10014a_1024

noirlab_noaoann10014a June 8th, 2010

Credit: SSRO/PROMPT/CTIO

Thors Helmet in Canis Major is about 15,000 light years distant. A large bright star near the helmets center has created this interstellar bubble by the force of its stellar wind. However, this star, known as a Wolf-Rayet star, may go supernova in the relatively near astronomical future. In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy images of NGC 2359. This image was created by first assembling a simple RGB from the 2 hours/channel RGB data. The H-alpha data was layered over the red in Photoshops lighten mode; the same with the OIII data for the green and blue channels. This allowed us to create an image with RGB stars but enhanced nebula detail from the H-alpha and OIII data. Then a composite (H-alpha+OIII) layer was pasted over the (R+Ha)(G+OIII)(B+OIII) image. The opacity of the composite layer was reduced somewhat to allow the RGB stars to shine through. The star appearance was kept relatively subdued, so as not to detract from the nebula.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noaoann10014a/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 2359 Thors Helmet
Noirlab_noaoann10014a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 7h 18m 34.1s
DEC = -13° 20’ 47.1”
Orientation
North is 90.0° CCW
Field of View
-19.2 x -13.8 arcminutes
Constellation
Canis Major

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (H-alpha) 656.0 nm
Red PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (R) 625.0 nm
Green PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (G) 475.0 nm
Green PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (OIII) 502.0 nm
Blue PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (OIII) 502.0 nm
Blue PROMPT-1 (CCD) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Red
Green
Green
Blue
Blue
Noirlab_noaoann10014a_1280
×
ID
noaoann10014a
Subject Category
Subject Name
NGC 2359, Thors Helmet
Credits
SSRO/PROMPT/CTIO
Release Date
2010-06-08T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noaoann10014a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
PROMPT-1, PROMPT-1, PROMPT-1, PROMPT-1, PROMPT-1, PROMPT-1
Instrument
CCD, CCD, CCD, CCD, CCD, CCD
Color Assignment
Red, Red, Green, Green, Blue, Blue
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, R, G, OIII, OIII, B
Central Wavelength
656, 625, 475, 502, 502, 435
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
109.6420627, -13.3464033
Reference Dimension
2826.0, 2040.0
Reference Pixel
2440.38916, 865.6157494
Scale
0.000113, -0.000113
Rotation
90.
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
NSF's NOIRLab
URL
https://noirlab.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
950 North Cherry Ave.
City
Tucson
State/Province
AZ
Postal Code
85719
Country
USA
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
NSF's NOIRLab
Publisher ID
noirlab
Resource ID
noaoann10014a
Metadata Date
2019-12-14T19:39:27+01:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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