The Cat's Eye Nebula
This NASA/ESA 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.
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
| Id: | opo9501c |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 11 January 1995, 15:00 |
| Size: | 760 x 742 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Cat's Eye Nebula, NGC 6543 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Jet |
| Distance: | 3000 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical H-alpha |
656 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical OI |
630 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical NII |
658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
