The picture is taken by the NASA Hubble space Telescope of one of the most complex planetary nebula ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the "Cats Eye Nebula".

It is an exploding star 3000 light years away. The nebula is a visual "fossil record" of the dynamics and the late evolution of a dying star. It was first viewed on 31st October 1999. The Qur'an mentioned it almost 1400 years ago:

"When the sky is torn apart, so it was (like) a red rose, like ointment." (Chapter 55, verse 37. Surah Ar-Rahmaan)

© The Revival 2001