The Cat's Eye Nebula from Hubble
This is a picture of NGC 6543, also known as the Cat's Eye, taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. It is located about three thousand light-years from Earth, and has a width of about half a light-year. This nebula is a classic planetary nebula, representing the brief and final stage in the life of a sun-like star. The outer pattern of dusty concentric shells was likely produced by shrugging off outer layers. Unfortunately, we do not fully understand this bizaar, yet glorious, phenomenon, but it is believed that this is the fate of our very own sun. Luckily, it will not be for another 5 billion years!
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