Cats Eye nebula Hubble Space Telescope image of the Cats Eye nebula NGC This is a planetary nebula shells of gas cast off by a dying star whose light illuminates them The star is seen at the centre of the nebula The name is misleading as planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets The structure of the gas shells is extremely intricate and reveals much about the star and its slow death The central regions show dense knots of gas amongst tangled streamers The outer parts show concentric shells cast off in year pulses The Cats Eye nebula lies around light years from Earth in the constellation Draco