Overview
- NASA and ESA released joint Hubble and Euclid images of NGC 6543 on March 4, offering a coordinated look at the planetary nebula.
- Hubble’s high-resolution visible-light data resolve the nebula’s inner region, revealing concentric shells, high-speed jets and dense knots shaped by shocks.
- Euclid’s wide-field near-infrared and visible imaging sets the nebula in a panorama of distant galaxies and shows an outer halo likely expelled before the bright central shell formed.
- Astronomers say the layered structures record episodic mass loss from the dying central star, creating a readable fossil record of late-stage stellar evolution.
- The Cat’s Eye lies about 4,300–4,400 light-years away in Draco, with reported estimates placing the faint outer halo at roughly 5,000–7,000 years old and the bright inner shell near 1,000 years.