Tag: Thor

Happy Solstice 2015!

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The Winter Solstice is a strange time of year in Canada.  It’s often forgotten being so close to Christmas and the end of the year, and even though the astronomer in me recognizes the significance of the event, it’s so dark and dreary outside that I curse it!  The good news is that the Solstice, being the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, means that the days will get a bit brighter from here on in.  Even though the coldest months of January and February are still to come, I’m glad to have made it past the darkest day....

Imaging Spotlight: Thor’s Helmet in Space

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In Canis Major, nearly 12,000 light years from Earth, lies an emission nebula that always makes me think of a particular comic book character.  NGC 2359 is 30 light years across, and is colloquially known as Thor’s Helmet. The complex structure of Thor’s helmet consists of bubbles and filaments, and is due to a series of bursts from the massive star HD 56925.  This star is a rare Wolf-Rayet star, which consistently expels its outer layers of gas at high velocities, and is characterized by its very high temperature. The blue bubble in the above image is a result of...