Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 June 9 [2]A starfield surrounds a complex nebula with many red and blue filaments. Dark streams of dust also populate the nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Thor's Helmet Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Josep Drudis, [4]Christian Sasse Explanation: Thor not only has [5]his own day (Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, [6]NGC 2359 is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with [7]wing-like appendages. Heroically sized even for a [8]Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like [9]an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast wind from the bright, massive [10]star near the bubble's center. Known as a [11]Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely [12]hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-[13]supernova stage of [14]evolution. NGC 2359 [15]is located about 15,000 [16]light-years away toward the constellation of the [17]Great Overdog. This [18]sharp image is a combination of deep images taken in light emitted by [19]hydrogen (red) and [20]oxygen (blue). The [21]star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to [22]explode in a spectacular [23]supernova sometime within the next few thousand years. Sky Surprise: [24]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995) Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [25]< | [26]Archive | [27]Submissions | [28]Index | [29]Search | [30]Calendar | [31]RSS | [32]Education | [33]About APOD | [34]Discuss | [35]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell ([39]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [40]Specific rights apply. [41]NASA Web Privacy, [42]Accessibility, [43]Notices; A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC, [47]NASA Science Activation & [48]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2606/Thor_Drudis_4389.jpg 3. https://www.astrodrudis.com/ 4. https://www.instagram.com/sassephoto/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday#Thor's_day 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2359 7. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/t7lgewe598r11.jpg 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180419.html 10. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 11. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a-wolf-rayet-bubble-and-the-early-solar-system/ 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250203.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260507.html 14. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/stellar-evolution 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250218.html 16. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 17. https://webhome.phy.duke.edu/~hsg/134/poems/frost-canis-major.txt 18. https://astrodrudis.com/ngc-2359-in-higher-resolution/ 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-alpha 20. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/paleoclimatology-the-oxygen-balance/ 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_7 22. https://youtu.be/i_PCaRn2xoE 23. https://youtu.be/-yEBVm5o97E 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260608.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 31. https://apod.com/feed.rss 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260609 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260610.html 36. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/ 37. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/ 38. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087 39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 42. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 44. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/ 46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 47. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/ 48. http://www.mtu.edu/