Cat's Eye Nebula Age
The size and expansion rate of the Cats Eye suggest the nebula is just 1000 years old.
Cat's eye nebula age. It was the first planetary nebula to have its spectrum measured which demonstrated that it was largely composed of hot gases. The Cats Eye Nebula was discovered by Herschel in the late 18th century. 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.
Visually it is similar to the cats eye and was named accordingly. The Spectacular Cats Eye Planetary Nebula 33 Thousands of years ago a star reached the end of its life and began to eject its outer layers forming one of the most complex planetary nebulae in the sky. 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.
Each ring is actually the edge of a. 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. The Cats Eye Nebula NGC 6543 is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky.
This image reveals new details of the Cats Eye Nebula catalogued as NGC 6543 one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen. His early work was devoted to the study of planetary nebulae. 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.
There he built himself a telescope and started to study astronomy. A classic planetary nebula the Cats Eye NGC 6543 represents a final brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. No two look alike.
Planetary nebulae are like snowflakes. Herschel was a German-born astronomer who emigrated to Great Britain at age 19. The full beauty of the Cats Eye Nebula NGC 6543 is revealed in this new detailed view from NASAs Hubble Space Telescope.