NGC 2264 - Cone Nebula & Christmas Tree Cluster
Apparently NGC 2264 refers to both the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster and unofficially goes by the Fox Fur Nebula and the Snowflake Cluster. Relatively close at 2,600 light-years in the constellation of Monoceros the nebula spans some 30 light-years and is a birthplace for stars.
NGC 2264 is very popular amongst imagers in the Northern Hemisphere but it is only my second time. My first image from many years ago was with my DSLR and pretty poor processing skills which is why I wanted to get back. I was originally planning on an HaRGB or HOO but it seems the only time it is clear here is when the moon is out so I went with SHO.
I find this whole complex quite interesting especially swirly arcs at the top and the cone at the bottom. I cropped it a slight amount but not too much as I wanted to keep the dark region in the upper right portion which has an almost 3-D effect. The bright star in the center of my image is known as S Monocerotis and forms the base of the Christmas Tree which is pointing downward.
Dates: 12-27-20, 12-28-20, 1-20-21, 1-23-21, 1-28-21, 1-29-21, 1-30-21
https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1
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