New Delhi: In this new, detailed view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the full beauty of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is revealed.
The Cat's Eye Nebula, which is one of the most complex planetary nebulae known, was discovered by William Hershel in 1786, formed by a dying star originally about five times the mass of the Sun.
On the occasion of International Cat Day, 8th August, NASA tweeted out this stunning view from Hubble that is like seeing an onion cut in half, where each skin layer is discernible.
For #InternationalCatDay, here's the Cat’s Eye Nebula, which appears to stare across space: https://t.co/apyEulqzV8 pic.twitter.com/PmS5ev5YNP
— NASA (@NASA) August 8, 2016
The image from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) shows a bull's eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings, or shells, around the Cat's Eye. Each 'ring' is actually the edge of a spherical bubble seen projected onto the sky - that's why it appears bright along its outer edge.
