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Cat's Eye Nebula
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this view of the so-called Cat's Eye Nebula. The nebula, formally cataloged NGC 6543 was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered and one of the most complex such nebulae seen in space. A planetary nebula forms when Sun-like stars gently eject their outer gaseous layers that form bright nebulae with amazing and confounding shapes. In 1994, Hubble first revealed NGC 6543's surprisingly intricate structures, including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas, and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. As if the Cat's Eye itself isn't spectacular enough, this new image taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) reveals the full beauty of a bull's eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings, or shells, around the Cat's Eye. Each 'ring' is actually the edge of a spherical bubble seen projected onto the sky - that's why it appears bright along its outer edge. These concentric shells make a layered, onion-skin structure around the dying star. The view from Hubble is like seeing an onion cut in half, where each skin layer is discernible. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Download Wallpaper: 800 x 600 | 1024 x 768 Return to galleries: Earth | Solar System | Stars & Galaxies | Spaceflight & Spacecraft
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