Winner of the ESO anniversary competition — the Thor’s Helmet Nebula

The Thor’s Helmet Nebula was selected by the public to be observed with the Very Large Telescope on 5 October 2012, ESO’s 50th anniversary day, as part of the competition Choose What the VLT Observes! This image is a placeholder until the observation is done. You can watch it live here on 5 October 2012. More details can be found here.