Cat's Eye Nebula with resolved nucleus - NGC 6543 (Massimo Di Fusco)

Cat's Eye Nebula with resolved nucleus - NGC 6543

This is a composite image obtained combining long exposure shoots for the external and faintest nebula with short exposure shoots for the internal brighter nucleus. In particular, the nucleus was obtained with the lucky imaging technique using the asi224 planetary camera with a 2x Barlow lens.

The Cat's Eye Nebula (also known as NGC 6543 and Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins, demonstrating that planetary nebulae were gaseous and not stellar in nature. Structurally, the object has had high-resolution images by the Hubble Space Telescope revealing knots, jets, bubbles and complex arcs, being illuminated by the central hot planetary nebula nucleus (PNN).

For the external nebula:
Konus 200/1000 @960mm, f/4.8
Qhy168c @-20 °C
Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro mount
Optolong L_Ultimate filter 265x300"
N.I.N.A., APP, PixInsight, PS

For the nucleus:
Konus 200/1000 @2000mm, f/10
Zwo Asi224mc (gain 550) with 2x barlow lens
Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro mount
SvBony UV/IR-cut filter 1766x1"
SvBony UV/IR-cut filter 11460x0.75"
SvBony UV/IR-cut filter 14025x0.5"
SharpCap 3.2, PIPP, AutoStakkert!3, PixInsight, GIMP, PS

	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
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	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape
Artificial satellite

	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
PixInsight job	HM3B29LY176ORPLYN1VP6IR6VT6036O2
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	17h58m33s.148
RA (top/left)	17h57m32s.901
RA (top/right)	17h59m35s.984
RA (bottom/right)	17h59m33s.919
RA (bottom/left)	17h57m29s.432

Dec (center)	+66°38′00″.16
Dec (top/left)	+66°31′43″.95
Dec (top/right)	+66°32′00″.13
Dec (bottom/right)	+66°44′14″.70
Dec (bottom/left)	+66°43′58″.45

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