✨ NGC6543 - The Cats Eye Nebula ✨
Fri Jul 17 2026
I had bigger plans for this one but my mount finally died for sure this time. 🪦 I planned on picking up RGB for true color stars as well as shorter subframes in narrowband to control the core better. Also, you can see NGC6552 in the lower right corner which is a galaxy that is ~350–400 million light-years away!
About this object
- Type
- Planetary Nebula
- Constellation
- Draco (the Dragon)
- Apparent magnitude
- 9
- Apparent size
- 54″
- Catalogue designations
- NGC 6543
The Cat's Eye Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Draco (the Dragon). It shines at about magnitude 9 and spans roughly 54″ on the sky.
Acquisition
- Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm: 216 × 3m (10h 48m)
- Antlia 3nm Narrowband Oxygen III 36 mm: 124 × 3m (6h 12m)
- Total integration: 17h 0m
Equipment
- Telescope / Lens: Celestron C8
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Mount: Celestron CGEM II
- Filters: Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm, Antlia 3nm Narrowband Oxygen III 36 mm
- Guiding scope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
- Guiding camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini
- Accessories: Celestron 0.63X SCT Reducer (94175), ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm
- Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.