Christmas Tree (NGC 2264)

Object Type: Nebula
Scope: Orion APO 80mm; Exposure 190 minutes.

NGC 2264 is a single New General Catalogue entry covering two objects together: the Christmas Tree Cluster and the Cone Nebula, in Monoceros, about 2,600 light-years away. The same star-forming region also contains the Snowflake Cluster and the Fox Fur Nebula. Young stars in the cluster light and sculpt the surrounding gas and dust, and the dark, cone-shaped pillar gives the Cone Nebula its name.