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Enhanced Color:
Cat's Eye Nebula
The Cat’s Eye Nebula consists of glowing gases ejected into
outer space by a dying star. Individual chemical elements in the
nebula emit light at very specific wavelengths.
The three black-and-white images used to construct this image
represent light from hydrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, and nitrogen
ions (nitrogen atoms with one electron removed).
All three images correspond to different shades of red light,
so we enhanced the color differences to make the nebula’s
delicate structures more obvious.
In this case, light from hydrogen atoms is shown in red, light
from oxygen is shown in blue, and light from nitrogen is shown
in green.
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