Image 5-20
Cat's Eye Nebula

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, NGC 6543, also known as the "Cat's Eye Nebula." The image reveals surprisingly intricate structures including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. This nebula is estimated to be over 1,000 years old, and is a visual "fossil record" of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star. NGC 6543 is located approximately 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Draco.