The Cat’s Eye Nebula from Hubble

To some, it may look like a cat’s eye. The alluring Cat’s Eye nebula, however, lies three thousand light-years from Earth across interstellar space. A classic planetary nebula, the Cat’s Eye (NGC 6543) represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula‘s dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. Seen so clearly in this digitally sharpened Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye is over half a light-year across. Of course, gazing into this Cat’s Eye, astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution … in about 5 billion years.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

It's my pleasure to introduce my self..well, I'm The Geekiest. I tie my own shoes, brush my own hair, and make my own bed... (well, only if my mom isn't at home.) During the day, I can be found sitting in an office cubicle, feverishly tapping my phone with hopes of getting a new high score on Tetris. I like to spend my evenings watching re-runs of Firefly while sipping on a glass of Chardonnay. I play a mean game of rock-paper-scissors (was the national champion for 2 years straight), and love the smell of pop tarts in the morning (part of a complete breakfast!)