The intergovernmental organization European Space Agency (ESA) has released a colored image of NGC 2359, which is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. It is also known as Thor's Helmet. It has been given the name due to gas arches stemming out of the central bulge.

The image released by the space agency is a combination of two pictures that were captured by the EPIC cameras of ESA XMM-Newton space observatory and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory's Stars and Shadows Remote Observatory South. The bright color of the nebula could help the scientists to understand its composition.

According to reports, the EPIC cameras have captured bright blue patches that reveal X-ray emissions, while Shadows Remote Observatory South has shown the red and pale green areas glowing from ionized hydrogen and oxygen.

The XMM-Newton documented the X-ray emissions, which can be seen coming from a Wolf-Rayet star in the middle of the nebula called HD 56925. The star has been releasing material at a dizzying rate and losing mass about equal to the sun in 100,000 years. Mass loss comes into view as wind moving around the nebula at a speed of about 932 miles per second.

With such violent inhabitants within, NGC 2359 has taken on an untidy shape. Gaseous filaments enveloped the central bubble. The blue patches in the nebula showed the hottest regions of the nebula. Gas within the nebula is believed to reach a temperature between several million and tens of millions of degrees.

ESA XMM-Newton space observatory has been orbiting the earth since last 16 years, but its contribution to the image of NGC 2359 was captured in 2013. The photo was first released in the image gallery of the XMM-Newton.