Planetary nebula · Draco
NGC 6543 Cat's Eye Nebula
Also known as: C6
mag 9.054″ across
About
NGC 6543, the Cat's Eye Nebula, is a planetary nebula of magnitude 9.0 in Draco, about 54″ across.
How to find it
- NGC 6543 is in the constellation Draco.
- Best evenings: around early August it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
- Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 13° S.
- Head of Draco: A small, bright greenish planetary nebula 15° north of Eltanin; a telescope.
When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.
What you will see
- EyesNot visible to the naked eye.
- Binoculars (10×50)Looks like a faint star.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)A small disc or ring of grey-green light; an OIII or UHC filter helps.
For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.
Facts
| Designations | NGC 6543, C6, PN G096.4+29.9 |
|---|---|
| Type | Planetary nebula |
| Magnitude | 9.0The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Apparent size | 54″the full Moon is 31′ across |
| Surface brightness | ≈ 17.4 mag/arcsec²Estimate from the magnitude and size, per square arcsecond. |
| Constellation | Draco |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 58m 33.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +66° 38′ 00″ |
More in Draco
NGC 4236Galaxymag 9.8
M102Spindle GalaxyGalaxy · mag 9.9.jpg?width=160)
NGC 6503Lost in Space GalaxyGalaxy · mag 10.1.jpg?width=160)
NGC 6621Edward's GalaxyGalaxy · mag 13.4NGC 6622Edward's GalaxyGalaxy · mag 14.1Sources and credits
Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →