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March 4, 2026<\/p>\n
1 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n NASA unveils dazzling new images of the \u2018Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula\u2019<\/p>\n The space-based telescopes Hubble and Euclid combined forces to capture the vibrant remains of a dying star in stunning new detail<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n ESA\/Hubble\/NASA\/ESA Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA\/Q1-2025\/J.-C. Cuillandre\/E. Bertin\/CEA Paris-Saclay\/Z. Tsvetanov<\/p>\n In 1995 NASA published images captured by the then nearly five-year-old Hubble Space Telescope of what the agency described as \u201cone of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen.\u201d The photographs showed a dying star, or perhaps even stars, cocooned in striking red and green clouds of gas\u2014the so-called Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula. And now, more than 30 years later and alongside the space telescope Euclid, Hubble has trained its eye back on the nebula, revealing it in even more stunning detail.<\/p>\n The images capture a wider view of the nebula, highlighting a ring of material radiating from its center. Incredibly, this \u201chalo\u201d was expelled from the system before the rest of the nebula formed.<\/p>\n The combined observations \u201creveal the remarkable complexity of stellar death in this object,\u201d NASA said in a blog post.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n The Hubble Space Telescope and the Euclid space telescope joined forces to produce this image of the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula.<\/p>\n ESA\/Hubble\/NASA\/ESA Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA\/Q1-2025\/J.-C. Cuillandre\/E. Bertin\/CEA Paris-Saclay\/Z. Tsvetanov<\/p>\n Some of the new Hubble observations show the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543, in the finest detail ever seen. The nebula lies some 4,400 light-years away from Earth.<\/p>\n Hubble\u2019s new image of the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula.<\/p>\n ESA\/Hubble\/NASA\/Z. Tsvetanov<\/p>\n \u201cThe data reveal a tapestry of concentric shells, jets of high-speed gas and dense knots sculpted by shock interactions, features that appear almost surreal in their intricacy,\u201d NASA wrote.<\/p>\n The observations could offer clues to how nebulas like this one form. By examining the structure of the Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula in detail, astronomers can trace back the history of the dying star at its center\u2014essentially enabling them to read a \u201ccosmic \u2018fossil record\u2019 of [the star\u2019s] final evolutionary stages,\u201d NASA said.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. 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I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 4, 2026 1 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm NASA unveils dazzling new images of the \u2018Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula\u2019 The space-based telescopes Hubble and Euclid combined forces to capture the vibrant remains of a dying star in stunning new detail By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron ESA\/Hubble\/NASA\/ESA Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA\/Q1-2025\/J.-C. Cuillandre\/E. Bertin\/CEA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[6608,8900,2930,1506,3331,22216,908],"class_list":{"0":"post-45845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-cats","9":"tag-dazzling","10":"tag-eye","11":"tag-images","12":"tag-nasa","13":"tag-nebula","14":"tag-unveils"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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