NGC 2264 (Christmas Tree Cluster) · Seestar S30 · 2026-02-10
NGC 2264 is a combined designation covering the Christmas Tree Cluster, a young open star cluster in Monoceros, and the adjoining Cone Nebula, a dark, pillar-like dust column at its southern tip.
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NGC 2264 is a combined designation covering the Christmas Tree Cluster, a young open star cluster in Monoceros, and the adjoining Cone Nebula, a dark, pillar-like dust column at its southern tip. The complex lies approximately 2,350-2,700 light-years away, and is part of the broader Mon OB1 star-forming association, which also includes the nearby Fox Fur Nebula and Snowflake Cluster. Visually, the cluster's brighter stars trace a distinctive triangular, tree-like pattern (especially evident when the image is oriented with the cluster's apex down), while the Cone Nebula silhouettes a dense finger of gas and dust against surrounding faint red emission nebulosity. It is a popular target for combined broadband and Hα imaging, capturing both the cluster's colorful stars and the nebula's dark structures.
