Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2020 June 7

                            Halo of the Cat's Eye
      Image Credit & Copyright: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group), Nordic
                              Optical Telescope

   Explanation: The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known
   planetary nebulae in the sky. Its haunting symmetries are seen in the
   very central region of this stunning false-color picture, processed to
   reveal the enormous but extremely faint halo of gaseous material, over
   three light-years across, which surrounds the brighter, familiar
   planetary nebula. Made with data from the Nordic Optical Telescope in
   the Canary Islands, the composite picture shows extended emission from
   the nebula. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final
   phase in the life of a Sun-like star. Only much more recently however,
   have some planetaries been found to have halos like this one, likely
   formed of material shrugged off during earlier active episodes in the
   star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last
   for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer
   filamentary portions of this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years.

                    Tomorrow's picture: Venusian sun ring
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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