Here is NGC 2264, The Christmas Tree Cluster, in the constellation of Monoceros.
The Christmas Tree Cluster is a young open cluster located in the constellation Monoceros. It is part of the NGC 2264 region, along with the Cone Nebula and the Fox Fur Nebula, and belongs to the Monoceros OB1 association, a loose association of very young stars located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way.
The Christmas Tree Cluster was named for its triangular shape, formed by a cluster of very young stars, that is shaped like a tree in visible light. It is located in the northern part of NGC 2264, just above the Cone Nebula. The seventh magnitude member HD 47887 sits just above the tip of the Cone and the bright variable star S Monocerotis (15 Monocerotis) is located slightly to the north and marks the trunk of the Christmas tree. The apex of the tree is located at the Cone Nebula.
Also in this image at the extreme upper left is a small comet-shaped nebula named Hubble’s Variable nebula. It is illuminated by a variable star, so it changes slightly in brightness over time.
Image Info
- Camera : ZWO ASI1600MM Pro
- Lens: Canon 100-400 f/5.6L lens, set to 400mm
- Mount: iOptron SmartEQ Pro
- Hydrogen Alpha: 23 subframes of 300s = 115 min integration (used as the Luminance channel)
- Red: 12 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration
- Green: 12 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration
- Blue: 23 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration
- Total integration time: 475 min = 7.9 hours.
- Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
- Optical tracking via ASIAir automation, currently using ST4 mount control via the ASI120MM-S guide camera
- Separate channels stacked and LRGB integrated in Astro Pixel Processor
- Cropped, stretched, and denoised in Nebulosity
- Final processing in Aperture