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Cat's Eye Nebula

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A stunning view of the Cat's Eye Nebula, a colorful cloud of gas from a dying star, captured by space telescopes.

The Cat's Eye Nebula

The Cat's Eye Nebula is a beautiful glowing cloud in the night sky. It is found in the constellation of Draco. This special cloud was first seen by the astronomer William Herschel in 1786.

Pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope show amazing details like glowing knots and rings. Scientists have studied it using many kinds of light, from radio waves to X-ray wavelengths. This helps us learn more about how these glowing clouds form and change.

The Cat's Eye Nebula is made mostly of hydrogen and helium, with small amounts of heavier elements. It has a complex shape with rings and bubbles of gas. Scientists are still learning more about how it formed.

Images

A beautiful view of the Cat's Eye Nebula, a glowing cloud of gas from an old star, taken by a telescope in the Canary Islands.
The Cat's Eye Nebula: A beautiful glowing cloud of gas and dust in space, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
A beautiful image of the Cat's Eye Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing colorful clouds of gas and dust in space.
A colorful X-ray image of the Cat's Eye Nebula, showing a bright central star surrounded by hot gas clouds.

Related articles

Draco (constellation)
William Herschel
Hubble Space Telescope
Radio wave
X-ray
Hydrogen

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Cat's Eye Nebula, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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