Celebrating Hubble

On the Cover: The Cat's Eye nebula (NGC 6543) was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) first revealed, in 1994, its intricate structures, including concentric gas shells, high-speed jets of gas, and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. This portrait of the Cat's Eye nebula, captured in September 2004, was one of our Members' favorite Hubble images. To view more Members' favorites, see page 12. "One massive star expires in a series of violent explosions, shedding veils of fusion-forged elements that races through the cosmos. When enough of these elements congregate elsewhere, they may eventually produce new stars, planets, or even organisms. We, and everything around us, are formed from the final throes of distant, long-dead stars. In our universe, death is the engine of life." —Minna Lunney