Cat's Eye Nebula Age

In 1994 Hubble first revealed NGC 6543s surprisingly.

Cat's eye nebula age. The image from Hubbles Advanced Camera for Surveys ACS shows a bulls eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings or shells around the Cats Eye. Each ring is actually the edge of a. It is a Planetary Nebula expanding gas shell ejected from an end-of-life star in the constellation of the Dragon whose age is estimated at only 1000 years and the distance at only 5200 light years.

The central nebula very bright was formed 1000 years ago. Approximately 1000 years ago the pattern of mass loss suddenly changed and the Cats Eye Nebula itself started forming inside the dusty shells. The nebula was discovered by William Herschelon February 15 1786 and was the first planetary nebula to be observed with a spectroscope by William Hugginsin 1864.

The Cat Eye Nebula NGC 6543 is a mythical object from the deep sky of the Northern Hemisphere. When a Sun-like star nears the. The Cats Eye Nebula NGC 6543 is a planetary nebula in the constellation Dragon.

It was the first planetary nebula to have its spectrum measured which demonstrated that it was largely composed of hot gases. The full beauty of the Cats Eye Nebula NGC 6543 is revealed in this new detailed view from NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. It is similar in appearance to the Cats Eye Nebula and the Ring Nebula whose size age and physical characteristics are similar to the Dumbbell Nebula varying only in its relative proximity and the.

No two look alike. The other nebulosity much fainter was apparently ejected from the star previously every 1500 years or so. To some it may look like a cats eye.

A planetary nebula is the glowing gas ejected during the final stages of evolution of a star similar in mass to our Sun. Though the Cats Eye Nebula was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered it is one of the most complex such nebulae seen in space. It has been expanding ever since as can be seen by comparing Hubble images taken in 1994 1997 2000 and 2002.