How to photograph the Thor’s Helmet (NGC 2359)
A bubble with wings blown by a hot Wolf-Rayet star.
Photo byKudoipenguin(CC BY 4.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Thor’s Helmet
Thor’s Helmet glows strongly in oxygen-III, so it turns a bright teal with a dual-band filter. It is small, and looks best at 800mm or more.
Gear and framing
The Thor’s Helmet spans about 10′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Small refractor (250-600mm)
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III light. A dual-band filter, or separate narrowband filters with a mono camera, lets that light through and blocks most light pollution and moonlight. It is a good choice for city skies and for nights with the Moon up.
Tips
- It stays fairly low for northern observers, so shoot it close to the meridian.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.