• Key Information

  • Cat's Eye Nebula

  • Type
    Planetary Nebula
  • Diameter
    0.4 light years
  • Distance
    About 3,300 light years
  • Date of Discovery
    February 15, 1786 (William Herschel)
  • Other Names
    NGC 6543, Snail Nebula, Sunflower Nebula, Caldwell 6
  • Learning Point
  • The Cat's Eye Nebula is a planetary nebula, with a beautiful shape that resembles a cat's eye. It has been carefully examined by astronomers in many different wavelengths of light.
  • Project
  • Draw the Cat's Eye Nebula.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Draco
  • Fun Facts
  • The Cat's Eye Nebula was discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786.
  • The centre of the nebula contains a bright star, possibly a binary system, and one of them might be a Wolf-Rayet star.
  • The surface temperatures of known Wolf–Rayet stars range from 35,000 °F to around 377,000 °F, hotter than almost all other kinds of stars.
  • Planetary nebulas are a type of nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.