| NGC6543 / Planetary Nebula, type IIIa+II |
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| R.A. | 17h 58m 35.9s (2000.0) |
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| Dec. | +66° 38' 00" (2000.0) |
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| Apparent Size | 22.0" |
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| Real Size | 0.18 light yrs. |
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| Magnitude | 8.8 |
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| Distance | 1690 light yrs. |
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NGC6543 is a compact planetary nebula positioned in the constellation of Draco.
The nebula has an apparent diameter of about 20 arc seconds and brightness of 9th magnitude,
you can distinguish the nebula from normal stars through small scopes.
And as you can see in this picture the nebula looks elliptical shape, the apparent figure can be appreciated by medium-sized telescopes over 6-inches in aperture.
The nebula has several helical filaments being coiled up, the structure can be detected only with amateur telescopes under stable atmosphere conditions.
NGC6543 has a nickname of "The Cat's eye nebula" from its elliptical shape with a central star.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) captured a splendid shot of the nebula,
the picture made the nebula very popular including its unique nickname.
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