The Cat's Eye
The Cat's Eye
Fixing interstellar space, the beautiful nebula Cat's Eye is located 3,000 light-years from Earth. Classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) represents the brief yet glorious final phase in the life of a solar-type star. The dying central star of the nebula may have produced the simple exterior pattern composed of concentric layers of dust ejecting the outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. In this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, the true measure cosmic eye over half a light-year in diameter. Contemplating the Cat's Eye, astronomers can see the destiny of the sun, destined to enter its own phase of evolution ... in planetary nebula in about 5 billion years.
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