What do the Owl, the Cat's Eye, the Ghost of Jupiter, and Saturnhave in common?They're al planetary nebulaeof course, glowing gaseousshrouds shed by dying sun-like star asthey run out of nuclear fuel.Beautiful t look at,the symmetric planet-likeshapes of thes cosmic clouds,typically 1,000 times the size of ou solar system,evoke their popular names Flipping through digital pictures made byparticipants in the Kitt PeakNational Observatory Visitor Center' Advanced Observing Program,astronomer Adam Block created thisdelightful animation.Ten different planetary nebula images are presented, each registeredon the central star.In order, their catalog designations ar NGC1535 NGC 3242 (Ghost of Jupiter) NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye) NGC 7009 (Saturn Nebula) NGC 2438 NGC 6772 Abell 39 NGC 7139 NGC 6781,and M97 (Owl Nebula).This glorious final phasein the life of a star lasts only about 10,000 years.
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