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ThorsHelmet

Thor’s Helmet is an emission nebula 12 thousand light years away and 78500 to 236000 years old, in constellation Canis Major. The central star is a Wolf Rayet star called WR7, having light emitted from highly ionized Helium and Nitrogen. This indicates very high surface temperatures of 30,000 K to around 200,000 K, and strong stellar winds which are responsible for the rest of the helmet’s red color from Hydrogen Alpha and greenish blue from ionized Oxygen III emissions. A pretty sight according to me and hence my allure to capture this over several days totaling an exposure time of 17.5 hrs using Hydrogen Alpha and Oiii filters

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Uploaded on May 3, 2015