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Astrophotographer Captures Stunning Image of Thor's Helmet Nebula

3/24/2026

Summary

Story summary

Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher captured NGC 2359, also known as Thor's Helmet, about 15,000 light-years away in Canis Major.
The 30-light-year-wide nebula forms from a Wolf-Rayet star’s wind and is 16 times more massive and 280,000 times brighter than the sun.
Brecher photographed the image over eight hours with a Celestron telescope in Guelph, Canada, despite light pollution, revealing a structure that foreshadows a future supernova reshaping the interstellar environment.

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Story summary

Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher captured NGC 2359, also known as Thor's Helmet, about 15,000 light-years away in Canis Major.
The 30-light-year-wide nebula forms from a Wolf-Rayet star’s wind and is 16 times more massive and 280,000 times brighter than the sun.
Brecher photographed the image over eight hours with a Celestron telescope in Guelph, Canada, despite light pollution, revealing a structure that foreshadows a future supernova reshaping the interstellar environment.