Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2022 December 20
   [2]The featured image shows a nebula in blue and red that looks like a
      helmet. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                                Thor's Helmet
                Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Hannah Rochford

   Explanation: Thor not only has [4]his own day (Thursday), but a helmet
   in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, [5]NGC 2359 is a
   hat-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages. Heroically sized
   even for a [6]Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across.
   In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like [7]an interstellar
   bubble, blown with a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the
   bubble's center. Known as a [8]Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an
   extremely [9]hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-[10]supernova
   stage of evolution. NGC 2359 [11]is located about 15,000 light-years
   away toward the constellation of the [12]Great Overdog. This
   [13]remarkably sharp image is a mixed cocktail of data from
   [14]narrowband filters, capturing not only [15]natural looking stars
   but details of [16]the nebula's filamentary structures. The [17]star in
   the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to [18]explode in a spectacular
   [19]supernova sometime within the next few thousand years.

                Almost Hyperspace: [20]Random APOD Generator
                      Tomorrow's picture: solstice sun
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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC,
                         [41]NASA Science Activation
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/Thor_Rochford_2404.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/hannahgracerochford/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday#Thor's_day
   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2359
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180419.html
   8. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a-wolf-rayet-bubble-and-the-early-solar-system/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200308.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050910.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100319.html
  12. https://webhome.phy.duke.edu/~hsg/134/poems/frost-canis-major.txt
  13. https://www.instagram.com/p/CltbBCPs6Pq/
  14. https://astrobackyard.com/narrowband-imaging/
  15. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Nf3-uFj0L.__AC_SY445_SX342_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg
  16. https://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/118/2/948
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_7
  18. https://youtu.be/i_PCaRn2xoE
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf%E2%80%93Rayet_star#Supernovae
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221219.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221220
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221221.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/