Cat's+Eye+Nebula+by+Aaron+Shircliff



The imost important thing about the Cat's Eye nebula is in the center there is a bright and hot star. Around 1000 years ago lost its outer envelope producing the nebula. The great complexity of the Cat's Eye's structure, with its concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas, and unusual shock-induced knots of gas, has led astronomers to suggest that the central star may be a binary system. The fact that the two jets are now pointing in different directions than these features suggests that the jets are wobbling and turning on and off sometimes. But the most important thing about the Cat's Eye nebula is in the center there is a bright and hot star. Information from the Hubble Site.