Friday, September 24, 2010

APOD 1.4

                                    X-Ray Color Display of Cat's Eye Nebula

The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) has been a very popular case of study over the past 15 years. Many images have been seen thus far; this one however shows X-Rays emitting from the Nebula. The colors range from white, to blue, to purple, to red. This order is from the most intense temperature down. The central binary star is a multimillion degree X-Ray emitter that is in the stage of dieing.

Cat's Eye is located in the constellation Draco and about 3,300 ly from Earth. Its notable rings that interlock around the center have been a case for study because nobody really knows how they formed. My guess is that the central binary star emitted larger quantities of gasses at certain time intervals, but who knows?

Site: Picture from APOD

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