Explanation: Staring across interstellar space, the alluring
Cat's Eye Nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. One of the most famous
planetary nebulae in the sky, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) is over half a light-year across and represents a final, brief yet
glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star.
... Gazing into the Cat's Eye, astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our Sun, destined to enter its own
planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years.