NGC 2264 is the designation number of the
New General Catalogue that identifies two
astronomical objects as a single object: the
Cone Nebula, and the Christmas Tree Cluster. Two other objects are within this designation but not officially included, the
Snowflake Cluster, and the
Fox Fur Nebula.
All of the objects are located in the
Monoceros constellation and are located about 720
parsec
The parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to or (au), i.e. . The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, an ...
s or 2,300
light-years from
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
.
Due to its relative proximity and large size, it is extremely well studied.
NGC 2264 is sometimes referred to as the Christmas Tree Cluster and the
Cone Nebula. However, the designation of NGC 2264 in the
New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the cluster alone.
Structure
NGC 2264 is the location where the Cone Nebula, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster and the Christmas Tree Cluster have formed in this emission
nebula. For reference, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster is located 2,700
light years
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
away in the constellation Monoceros.
The Snowflake Cluster was granted its name due to its unmistakable pinwheel-like shape and its assortment of bright colors. The Christmas Tree star formation consists of young stars obscured by heavy layers of dust clouds. These dust clouds, along with hydrogen and helium are producing luminous new stars. The combination of dense clouds and an array of colors creates a color map filled with varying
wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, t ...
s. As seen in the photographs taken by the
Spitzer Space telescope, we are able to differentiate between young red stars and older blue stars.
With varying youthful stars comes vast changes to the overall structure of the clusters and
nebula. For a cluster to be considered a Snowflake, it must remain in the original location the star was formed.
When referring to this emission
nebula overall, there are several aspects that contribute to the prominent configuration of a snowflake and/or Christmas tree cluster. There is a diverse arrangement of brilliant colors, and an evolving process of structure that follow
star formation in a nebula.
The ratio of
brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s to
stars
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
is between 1 to 2.5 and 1 to 7.5.
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References
External links
NGC 2264 @ SEDS NGC objects pages
*
* Coordinates: 06h 41m 00s, +09° 53′ 00″
*
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
- Astronomy Sketch of the Day, 12-25-2008
Stellar Snowflake Cluster
Spitzer Spots Stellar Snowflake on the 'Christmas Tree Cluster'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngc 2264
2264
Monoceros (constellation)
Open clusters
Star-forming regions