A Fox Fur, a Unicorn, and a Christmas Tree
Credit & Copyright: Subaru,
ESO, & F. Antonucci
Explanation:
What do the following things have in common:
a cone, the fur of a fox, and a Christmas tree?
Answer: they all occur in the constellation of the unicorn
(
Monoceros).
Pictured as a star forming region
and
cataloged as NGC 2264, the complex jumble of
cosmic gas and dust is about 2,700 light-years distant and
mixes reddish
emission nebulae
excited by energetic light from
newborn stars
with dark
interstellar dust clouds.
Where the otherwise obscuring dust clouds lie close
to the hot, young stars they also reflect starlight, forming blue
reflection nebulae.
The
image spans about the diameter of a full moon,
covering about 30
light-years at the distance of NGC 2264.
Its cast of cosmic characters includes
the
Fox Fur Nebula, whose
convoluted pelt lies on the lower right, bright
variable star
S Mon visible just above the Fox Fur, and the
Cone Nebula on the image left.
Given their distribution, the stars of NGC 2264 are also known as the
Christmas Tree
star cluster.
The triangular tree shape traced by the stars appears here
with its apex at the
Cone Nebula on the left with its broader base
near
S Mon on the right.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
