Image: Cat's Eye Nebula.X-ray image

Description: An X-Ray image of NGC 6543 has revealed a bright central star surrounded by a cloud of multimillion-degree gas in the planetary nebula known as the Cat's Eye Nebula. This image of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, where the intensity of the X-ray emission is correlated to the brightness of the orange coloring, captures the expulsion of material from a star that is expected to collapse into a white dwarf in a few million years. The intensity of X rays from the central star was unexpected, and it is the first time astronomers have seen such X-ray emission from the central star of a planetary nebula. The ACIS X-ray camera aboard Chandra observed NGC 6543 from May 10-11, 1999 for a total exposure time of 46,000 seconds.
Title: Cat's Eye Nebula.X-ray image
Credit: [1]: Chandra Photo Album: NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula)
Author: NASA/UIUC/Y.Chu et al.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No