Andromeda
Log inJoin

Emission nebula

Thor's Helmet

Also NGC 2359

Open in Ouranos

A helmet-shaped bubble of gas blown by the wind of the Wolf–Rayet star WR 7.

Measured

Distance
about 15,560 light-years (published estimates 13,800–17,840)
Constellation
Canis Major
Position (J2000)
RA 7h 18m 30s, Dec −13.23°

How far, from the Sun

About 15,600 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light15,600 years
  • Voyager 1's speed276 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h168 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • WR 7 is a massive star that has lost much of its outer hydrogen; about a fifth of its surface is still hydrogen by mass.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.2096 ± 0.0268 mas of WR 7, Gaia DR3 3032940844556081408 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.