Sections

Catalogues

Show the direction and distance to this nebula on the Galactic Map.

Proper Name	Cat's Eye Nebula
Caldwell Number	C6
NGC/IC Number	NGC 6543
Other Designations	PK 96+29.1
Constellation	Draco
Right Ascension	17h 58m 33s
Declination	+66° 37' 59"
Distance	c. 3,300 light years (c. 1,000 parsecs)
Magnitude	Apparent: +8.1 Absolute: -1.8
Mean Diameter	Apparent: 0.4' Actual: 0.3 light years
Optimum Visibility	July (Usually visible from northern latitudes)
Notes	The Cat's Eye Nebula consists of multiple shells of material cast off from a central stellar system. That system is thought likely to be a binary star, whose orbit would help to account for the complex layers and symmetrical spiralling patterns of the nebula as it expands out into space.

Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

A very complex planetary nebula lying in the constellation of Draco, not far from the star Aldhibah or Nodus I.

v2.1g