Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Monoceros (Mon)  ·  Contains:  B39  ·  Christmas Tree Cluster  ·  GR Mon  ·  HD260859  ·  HD260862  ·  HD260893  ·  HD260894  ·  HD260931  ·  HD260933  ·  HD260958  ·  HD260959  ·  HD260984  ·  HD260985  ·  HD260987  ·  HD261014  ·  HD261015  ·  HD261050  ·  HD261051  ·  HD261052  ·  HD261053  ·  HD261054  ·  HD261055  ·  HD261083  ·  HD261084  ·  HD261085  ·  HD261086  ·  HD261141  ·  HD261142  ·  HD261170  ·  HD261172  ·  And 317 more.
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NGC 2264 The Christmas Tree Cluster, Dale A Chamberlain
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NGC 2264 The Christmas Tree Cluster, Dale A Chamberlain
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Description

NGC 2264 is the location where the Cone Nebula, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster, and the Christmas Tree Cluster have formed in this emission nebula. The Stellar Snowflake Cluster is located 2,700 light-years 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 dust clouds. These dust clouds, along with hydrogen and helium, are producing luminous new stars. Combining dense clouds and an array of colors creates a color map filled with varying wavelengths. 

With varying youthful stars come 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 where the star was formed.

When referring to this emission nebula overall, several aspects 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 follows star formation in a nebula.

The ratio of brown dwarfs to stars is 1 to 2.5 and 1 to 7.5.

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