Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image [ http://hubblesite.o…] from the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula [ http://en.wikipedia…] to be one of the most complex [ http://www.astro.wa…] planetary nebulae [ http://en.wikipedia…] known. In fact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the features seen in the Cat's Eye [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The term planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], used to describe this general class of objects, is misleading. Although these objects may appear round and planet-like in small telescopes, high resolution images [ http://www.noao.edu…] reveal them to be stars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages of stellar evolution [ http://instruct1.ci…].
Explanation
Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image [ http://hubblesite.o…] from the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula [ http://en.wikipedia…] to be one of the most complex [ http://www.astro.wa…] planetary nebulae [ http://en.wikipedia…] known. In fact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the features seen in the Cat's Eye [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The term planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], used to describe this general class of objects, is misleading. Although these objects may appear round and planet-like in small telescopes, high resolution images [ http://www.noao.edu…] reveal them to be stars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages of stellar evolution [ http://instruct1.ci…].
