NGC 2359 sometimes referred to as Thors Nebula, is the title of a nebula located 12,000 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is roughly 35 light years in length and holds a huge Wolf Rayet Star at its center. This Wolf Rayet Star is massive, it has completely burnt off its outer layer of hydrogen and has left helium and heavier elements fusing in its core. It is estimated to have a surface temperature between 30,000 and 250,000 kelvin and is calculated to be thousands of times brighter than our own Sun. Stellar winds emitted from the central star distort and shape the gas that surrounds it. The image above was captured at the Sierra Remote Observatory in California.
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