Astronomy Adventure – NGC 2264, The Christmas Tree Cluster

NGC 2264 actually contains four separate items, the most famous being the Christmas Tree open cluster and the Cone Nebula. Located in the constellation Monoceros, the cluster and the surrounding emission nebula lie about 2,600 light years away from us, meaning that the light captured in the photos was produced by these stars at about 500 BC, near the height of the Persian empire and the very founding of the Roman republic.

In my picture, the “Christmas tree” is lying upside down at a 45 degree angle with the brightest star on the upper left at its base and the single bright star in the very middle of the photograph as its peak. With a larger aperture telescope, less light-polluted skies, and a better camera, it is possible to see the Cone Nebula just beyond the tip of the tree and the additional nebulosity surrounding the cluster. These are beautifully captured in the photo from the European Space Organization farther below showing the tree literally upside down.

Photo below by ESO – http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2008/phot-48-08.html, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6283704