Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Draco (Dra)  ·  Contains:  HD164963  ·  IC 4677  ·  NGC 6552
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The Cat's Eye Nebula, Andrea Girones
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The Cat's Eye Nebula

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Cat's Eye Nebula, Andrea Girones
Powered byPixInsight

The Cat's Eye Nebula

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Description

This is an image I shot this week of the Cat’s eye nebula, NGC6543. Swipe to see the swirly bright eye deep in the centre….

This is a planetary nebula which is a silly name as it has nothing to do with planets but is related to the death of giant red stars.
The green-blue halo surrounding the core is made of glowing ionized gas ejected from a dying red giant star nearing the end of its life.
Deep in the centre is the hot luminous core called the nucleus. In my close up you will see some details in the core (which I was shocked to see) and is what give the nebula it’s name.
This object lies high in the northern sky in the constellation Draco.

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The Cat's Eye Nebula, Andrea Girones