Copyright © 2010 Larry Phillips
NGC 2264, Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster in the constellation Monoceros
The diffuse Cone Nebula, so named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264 which is above this image and is called the Christmas Tree Cluster. The cone's shape comes from a dark absorption nebula consisting of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionized by S Monocerotos, the brightest star of NGC 2264.
This is a narrowband version of a wider field image I took earlier. This is the CFHT palette where Ha is mapped to red, OIII to green, SII to blue.
Distance: 2400-2700 light years
Size: 7 light years across
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Telescope: Astrophysics Starfire 140 EDT F7.5
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO with Advanced Telescope Systems portable pier
Images: 57 subexposures of 15minutes each with 20 Ha, 20 SII, and 17 OIII for a total of 14 hous and 15 minutes.
Date: November 2009
Software: Camera, mount, and guider control - CCD Commander & MaximDL, Calibration and stacking - CCDStack, further processing in Photoshop CS4.
The diffuse Cone Nebula, so named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264 which is above this image and is called the Christmas Tree Cluster. The cone's shape comes from a dark absorption nebula consisting of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionized by S Monocerotos, the brightest star of NGC 2264.
This is a narrowband version of a wider field image I took earlier. This is the CFHT palette where Ha is mapped to red, OIII to green, SII to blue.
Distance: 2400-2700 light years
Size: 7 light years across
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Telescope: Astrophysics Starfire 140 EDT F7.5
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO with Advanced Telescope Systems portable pier
Images: 57 subexposures of 15minutes each with 20 Ha, 20 SII, and 17 OIII for a total of 14 hous and 15 minutes.
Date: November 2009
Software: Camera, mount, and guider control - CCD Commander & MaximDL, Calibration and stacking - CCDStack, further processing in Photoshop CS4.