The shape of the cone comes from a dark absorption nebula composed of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionised by S Monocerotis, the brightest star of NGC 2264.The shape of the cone comes from a dark absorption nebula composed of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionised by S Monocerotis, the brightest star of NGC 2264.Two other objects are within this designation, but not officially. The shape of the cone comes from a dark absorption nebula of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionised by S Monocerotis, the brightest star of NGC 2264.Two other objects are within this designation, but not officially. This colour image of the region of sky known as NGC 2264, which also includes the blue-glowing globes of the Christmas Tree star cluster and the Cone Nebula, was created from data taken with ESO’s La Silla Observatory’s Wide Field Imager at an altitude of 2400 m in Chile’s Atacama Desert in the foothills of the Andes through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha). This colour image of the celestial region known as NGC 2264, which also includes the sparkling blue orbs of the Christmas Tree star cluster and the Cone Nebula, was created from data taken through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha) by the Wide Field Imager of ESO’s La Silla Observatory at an altitude of 2400 m in the Atacama Desert in Chile in the foothills of the Andes.
It is one of the objects found under the designation NGC 2264, along with the Cone Nebula, the Christmas Tree Cluster and the Foxtail Nebula, but they are not officially part of it.
How old is NGC 2264?
The constellation Monoceros is usually not visible to the naked eye because there are no huge stars there. The Cone Nebula is a 7 light-year long dark column of nebulae, dust and gas emanating from the top star of the Christmas Tree. Together with the Cone Nebula and the Fox Fur Nebula, it is part of the region NGC 2264 and belongs to the association Monoceros OB1, a loose association of very young stars in the Orion arm of the Milky Way. For comparison, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster is located 2,700 light years away in the constellation Monoceros.
The mean age of ngc 2264 is estimated at 3 Myr, but an apparent age dispersion of at least 5 Myr can be inferred from the broadened sequence of suspected members.
Where is the Cone Nebula located?
The International Astronomical Union has decided to combine the classification of the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster as a single object in its General Classification Catalogue. The Cone Nebula lies in the southern part of NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster, with which it shares the NGC designation. The bright star in the centre of this image is 15 Monocerotis (or “S Monocerotis”) – a quadruple star system consisting of four bright blue-white stars (classes O7, B7, B8 and A), which is partly responsible for the nebula’s glow. The shape of the cone is created by a dark absorption nebula consisting of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionised by S. Monocerotis, the brightest star of NGC 2264.
How big is the Christmas tree cluster?
This colour image of the region of sky known as NGC 2264, which includes the twinkling blue orbs of the Christmas Tree Cluster, was created from data taken with the ESO La Silla Observatory’s Wide Field Imager at an altitude of 2400 m in Chile’s Atacama Desert in the foothills of the Andes through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha). The Christmas Tree Cluster, also known as NGC 2264, is an open star cluster embedded in a diffuse nebula. The region is about 30 light-years across and is located in the constellation Monoceros, about 2 600 light-years from Earth, not far from the constellation Orion. Part of NGC 2264, a cluster of young, hot stars that happens to form the outline of a Christmas tree as seen from Earth.
