The Cat's Eye Nebula
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the 'Cat's Eye Nebula.' Hubble reveals surprisingly intricate structures including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. Estimated to be 1, 000 years old, the nebula is a visual 'fossil record' of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9501b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 11 January 1995, 15:00 |
| Size: | 762 x 746 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Cat's Eye Nebula, IRAS 17584+6638A, NGC 6543 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Nebulae Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 3000 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
| Hubble Space Telescope WFPC1 |
