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Cat Eye Nebula

The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is a planetary nebula in the Draco constellation estimated to be 1000 years old.

It as discovered by William Herschel on February 15 1786, and was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated, by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins in 1864. NGC 6543 is situated almost exactly in the direction of the North Ecliptic Pole. While the nebula, with its 20 arc second diameter, is rather small, it has an extended halo of matter the progenitor star has ejected during its red giant phase. This halo measures 386 arc seconds (5.8 arc min).
bubblenebula.jpg bubblenebula2.jpg catseyenebulaNGC6543.jpg cavenebula.jpg CocoonNebula.jpg
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