Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 2359: Thor's Helmet

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 5, 2002 is “NGC 2359: Thor's Helmet,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Christine and David Smith, Steve Mandel, Adam Block ( KPNO Visitor Program ), NOAO , AURA , NSF. The original explanation runs about 128 words.

NGC 2359: Thor's Helmet
Credit: Christine and David Smith, Steve Mandel, Adam Block ( KPNO Visitor Program ), NOAO , AURA , NSF Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“NGC 2359 is a striking emission nebula with an impressive popular name – Thor’s Helmet. Sure, its suggestive winged appearance might lead some to refer to it as the “duck nebula”, but if you were a nebula which name would you choose?”

— APOD editors, December 5, 2002

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 5, 2002
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Christine and David Smith, Steve Mandel, Adam Block ( KPNO Visitor Program ), NOAO , AURA , NSF
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 128 words

All of December 2002 → · 2002 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 5 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.