Credit: Left: X-ray (NASA/UIUC/Y.Chu et al.), Right: X-ray/Optical Composite (X-ray: NASA/UIUC/Y.Chu et al., Optical: NASA/HST)

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image on the left shows a bright central star surrounded by a cloud of multimillion-degree gas in the planetary nebula known as the Cat's Eye. The central star is expected to collapse into a white dwarf in a few million years. In the right panel, a composite image by Chandra (purple) and by the Hubble Space Telescope (red and green) shows where the hot, X-ray emitting gas appears in relation to the cooler material seen in optical wavelengths. A planetary nebula (so called because it looks like a planet when viewed with a small telescope) is formed when a dying red giant star puffs off its outer layer, leaving behind a hot central core.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2001/1220/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html