This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals new details of the Cat’s Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen. Understanding how and why planetary nebulae form is made complicated by vast distances and the fixed orientations of these Sun-like stars undergoing their last gasps.
The lithograph includes text and images of other nebulae, emphasizing that no two are alike.
Included is an inquiry-based classroom activity that focuses on the image and text.
This Hubble Space Telescope image reveals new details of the Cats Eye Nebula, one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen. A planetary nebula is the glowing gas ejected by a star similar in mass to our Sun, during its final stages of evolution. Includes a classroom activity.
Teachers can use this lithograph as:
An engagement tool in an inquiry-based lesson. Have students study the image side of the lithograph. Ask them to write down any questions they have about the image. When the students are finished, their questions can be used in a variety of ways:
A content reading tool. Have students read the back of the lithograph and then write a quiz for the class.
An example of a planetary nebula. Use the inquiry-based classroom activity called "In Search of the Complex Structures of Planetary Nebulae" that is included with the PDF lithograph.
Tales of ... The glorious end of stellar life
HubbleSite press release: "Dying Star Creates Fantasy-Like Sculpture of Gas and Dust"
Amazing Space resources by topic: Stars and stellar evolution