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Credit & Copyright: Michael Miller,
Jimmy Walker
Explanation:
Clouds of glowing hydrogen gas fill this colorful skyscape in the faint
but fanciful constellation
Monoceros,
the Unicorn.
A star forming region
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 tall, telescopic mosaic image stands up about 3/4 degree
or nearly 1.5 full moons,
covering 40 light-years at the distance of NGC 2264.
Its cast of cosmic characters includes the
the Fox Fur Nebula, whose
dusty, convoluted pelt lies just left of center,
bright variable star S Monocerotis immersed in the blue-tinted haze
right of the Fox Fur, and the
Cone
Nebula pointing down from the top of the frame.
Of course, the stars
of NGC 2264
are also known as the Christmas Tree star cluster.
The triangular tree shape traced by the stars has
its apex at the Cone Nebula.
The tree's broader base is centered near
S Monocerotis.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: emission nebula - reflection nebula - NGC 2264 - S Mon
Publications with words: emission nebula - reflection nebula - NGC 2264 - S Mon
See also: