Popularly called Thor's Helmet,
NGC 2359
is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with
wing-like appendages.

Heroically sized even for a
Norse god,
Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across.

In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like
an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast
wind from the bright, massive
star
near the bubble's center.

Known as a
Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely
hot giant thought to be in a brief,
pre-supernova stage of
evolution.

NGC 2359 is located about 15,000
light-years away toward the constellation of the
Great Overdog.

This sharp image
is a combination of deep images taken in light emitted by
hydrogen (red) and
oxygen (blue).

The star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to
explode in a spectacular
supernova sometime within the next few thousand years.