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\t\t\t\t\t\t03\/03\/2026<\/span> For this month\u2019s ESA\/Hubble Picture of the Month,\u00a0NASA\/ESA’s\u00a0Hubble Space Telescope\u00a0is joined by\u00a0ESA\u2019s\u00a0Euclid to create a new view of the most visually intricate remnants of a dying star: the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This extraordinary planetary nebula in the constellation Draco has captivated astronomers for decades with its elaborate and multilayered structure. Observations with ESA\u2019s Gaia mission place the nebula at a distance of about 4300 light-years.<\/p>\n Planetary nebulae, so-called because of their round shape when viewed through early telescopes, are in fact expanding gas thrown off by stars in their final stages of evolution. It was the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula itself where this fact was first discovered in 1864 \u2013 examining the spectrum of its light reveals the emission from individual molecules that\u2019s characteristic of a gas, distinguishing planetary nebulae from stars and galaxies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here, the nebula is showcased through the combined eyes of the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA\u2019s Euclid, highlighting the remarkable complexity of stellar death.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Though primarily designed to map the distant Universe, Euclid captures the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula as part of its deep imaging surveys. In Euclid\u2019s wide, near-infrared and visible light view, the arcs and filaments of the nebula\u2019s bright central region are situated within a halo of colourful fragments of gas zooming away from the star.<\/p>\n This ring was ejected from the star at an earlier stage, before the main nebula at the centre formed. The whole nebula stands out against a backdrop teeming with distant galaxies, demonstrating how local astrophysical beauty and the farthest reaches of the cosmos can be seen together in modern astronomical surveys.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Within this broad view of the nebula and its surroundings, Hubble captures the very core of the billowing gas with high-resolution visible-light images, adding extra detail in the centre of this image. The data reveal a tapestry of concentric shells, jets of high-speed gas and dense knots sculpted by shock interactions, features that appear almost surreal in their intricacy. These structures are believed to record episodic mass loss from the dying star at the nebula\u2019s centre, creating a kind of cosmic ‘fossil record’ of its final evolutionary stages.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Combining the focused view of Hubble with Euclid\u2019s deep field observations not only highlights the nebula\u2019s exquisite structure but also places it within the broader context of the Universe that both space telescopes explore. Together, these missions provide a rich and complementary view of NGC 6543 \u2013 revealing the delicate interplay between stellar end-of-life processes and the vast surrounding space.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The\u00a0Hubble Space Telescope\u00a0is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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