Cat's Eye Nebula - Distance

Distance

A long-standing problem in the study of planetary nebulae is that their distances are generally not well known. Many methods for estimating distances to planetary nebulae rely on making general assumptions, which may be very inaccurate for the object concerned.

In recent years, however, observations made using the Hubble Space Telescope have allowed a new method of determining distances. All planetary nebulae are expanding, and observations several years apart and with high enough angular resolution will reveal the growth of the nebula in the plane of the sky. This is typically very small—only a few milliarcseconds a year or less. Spectroscopic observations can reveal the velocity of expansion of the nebula along the line of sight using the Doppler effect. Then, comparing the angular expansion with the known expansion velocity, the distance to the nebula can be calculated.

Hubble Space Telescope observations of NGC 6543 several years apart have been used to calculate its distance. Its angular expansion rate is 3.457 milliarcseconds per year, while its expansion velocity along the line of sight has been found to be 16.4 km/s. Combining these two results implies that NGC 6543 is 1001 ± 269 parsecs (3×1019 m), or about 3300 light-years away from Earth.