Check Out These Mesmerizing Views Of The Cat's Eye Nebula Like Never Seen Before

By merging the razor focus of the Hubble Space Telescope with the wide-field perspective of the Euclid mission, two of the world’s most powerful space telescopes have captured a new look at the Cat’s Eye Nebula, the famous sprawling cemetery of gas and light located roughly 4,400 light-years from us.

Officially tagged NGC 6543, the Cat's Eye Nebula has long been a subject of fascination because of its incredible complexity. In the new composite imagery above, Hubble’s contribution provides a detailed look at the nebula core within the realm of visible light. Using its third-gen Advanced Camera for Surveys, Hubble captured concentric shells of gas, high-speed jets, and dense knots sculpted by shock interactions in the vicinity of the dying star. These features are the result of episodic mass loss, the star essentially pulsing and coughing out its outer layers in a series of rhythmic ...