Cat's Eye Nebula: A Hubble Image Tour March 5/2018 The Cat's Eye Nebula is a "planetary nebula," created when a dying, Sun-sized star ejects its outer layers of gas into space. This nebula will be visible until its gas dissipates into space over the course of about 10,000 years. The nebula, formally cataloged NGC 6543. Though the Cat's Eye Nebula was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered, it is one of the most complex such nebulae seen in space. A planetary nebula forms when Sun-li