Capturing 16 hours of data, Jason Dain wins the Photo of the Week for March 11, 2022, with a look at two nebulae in one image — the Seagull and Thor’s Helmet Nebulae.
IC 2177 (seen at the top left to centre of the image) is commonly known as the Seagull Nebula, as it resembles a seagull in flight. It is an emission nebula located 3,800 light-years away from Earth on the borders of the Monoceros and Canis Major constellations. Discovered in the late 1800s by Welsh amateur astronomer Isaac Roberts, he described the Seagull Nebula as “pretty bright, extremely large, irregularly round, very diffuse.”
NGC 2359 can bee seen at the bottom right of Jason Dain’s submission, and it is commonly known as Thor’s Helmet Nebula due to it resembling the Norse god’s iconic headgear. It is also an emission nebula, and it is located 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major.
The nebula is produced by a Wolf-Rayet star emitting stellar winds that expand outwards to produce an interstellar bubble. The bubble interacts with the surrounding molecular cloud to give the nebula its glow.
Dain captured this image using over 16 hours of exposures collected from Stillwater Lake, Nova Scotia, in February 2022. He used his ZWO ASI294MM camera and Samyang 135mm f/2 lens to photograph the nebulae.
Every week, SkyNews publishes the best image from among those sent in by readers from all across Canada. Whether you’re an expert or a beginner at night sky photography, we’re looking for your pictures! Enter today for your chance to win a Photo of the Week title and one of our annual prizes!
