The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is a planetary nebula located three thousand light years away in the constellation Draco (the Dragon).
This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. Seen so clearly in this digitally sharpened Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye is over half a light-year across.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Description: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)