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![Thor's Helmet](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Thor-Proc-768x592.png)
Thor’s Helmet
This week’s target was Thor’s Helmet (NGC 2359), an emission nebula in Canis Major a rather distant 12,000 light-years away. It’s formed by a Wolf-Rayet star in its center, which is a crazy-hot star whose immense stellar wind is bunching up and ionizing the gases around it in these complex patterns. It’ll probably go supernova…
![Summertime weather hiatus…](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/iStock-1053913764-768x293.jpg)
Summertime weather hiatus…
Yeah, it’s been a couple of months since we’ve done a live star party online, or posted any new pictures. That’s just summertime in Central Florida for you – it’s been too cloudy to do any imaging or observing. The skies should start clearing up more in a couple of months, and we have every…
![NGC 3344: Another obscure, isolated galaxy](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NGC3344-768x768.png)
NGC 3344: Another obscure, isolated galaxy
Here’s another galaxy with no nearby neighbors, and no catchy nicknames either: NGC 3344. It’s about 22.5 million light-years away within the constellation Leo Minor. Although it doesn’t get the love it deserves, it’s a glorious face-on barred spiral galaxy that’s about half the size of our own Milky Way. Explore the space around it,…
![Hoag's Object](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/HoagsRGBCrop-768x565.png)
A “ring galaxy” 600 MILLION light-years away
Hoag’s Object is the weirdest galaxy I know of; it is a “ring galaxy” – a very rare galaxy type that’s just a galactic core of stars, surrounded by a ring of stars that’s seemingly disconnected from its core. This galaxy has always captured my imagination. Just look at this image from the Hubble Space…
![Space Tulip and a Black Hole!](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tulip_SynthRGB-1-768x713.png)
Space Tulip and a Black Hole!
This is the Tulip Nebula in Cygnus, but see that shell-like structure just above it, to the right a little? That’s the bow shock wave of Cygnus X-1, a stellar-mass black hole! It’s one of the most powerful X-ray sources in the sky – but don’t worry, our atmosphere protects you from it. 20 hours…
![Sculptor Galaxy (NGC253)](https://boldly-going.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SculptorProc-768x560.png)
The Sculptor Galaxy
NGC253 is most commonly known as the “Sculptor Galaxy,” because it’s found within the constellation Sculptor. You probably haven’t heard of Sculptor – that’s because it is considered a Southern-hemisphere constellation, and it’s only visible in the US from Southern states such as Florida. It’s also known as the “Silver Coin Galaxy.” It’s part of…