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Credit & Copyright: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group),
Nordic Optical Telescope
Explanation:
The Cat's Eye Nebula
(NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary
nebulae in the sky.
Its haunting symmetries are seen
in the very central region of
this stunning false-color picture, processed to reveal the
enormous but extremely faint halo of gaseous material, over three
light-years across, which surrounds the brighter,
familiar
planetary nebula.
Made with data from the
Nordic Optical Telescope in the
Canary Islands,
the composite picture shows extended emission from the nebula.
Planetary
nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase
in the life of a sun-like star.
Only much more recently however, have some planetaries been
found to have halos
like this one, likely formed of material shrugged off during
earlier active episodes in the star's evolution.
While the planetary
nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years,
astronomers estimate the age of the
outer filamentary portions
of this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Cat's Eye Nebula - NGC 6543 - planetary nebula
Publications with words: Cat's Eye Nebula - NGC 6543 - planetary nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 31 Á NGC 7027: The Pillow Planetary Nebula
- APOD: 2025 August 22 Á A Tale of Two Nebulae
- APOD: 2025 August 5 Á NGC 6072: A Complex Planetary Nebula from Webb
- APOD: 2025 July 29 Á A Helix Nebula Deep Field
- APOD: 2025 July 13 Á Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
- APOD: 2025 June 9 Á Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Double Cosmic Discovery
- APOD: 2025 May 14 Á NGC 1360: The Robins Egg Nebula