Christmas Tree Cluster
The cluster has a total of over 600 stars ranging in age from from 1 to 4 million years old.
Christmas tree cluster. Ngc 2264 is sometimes referred to as the christmas tree cluster and the cone nebula. Ngc 2264 is a young galactic cluster of stars in the monoceros ob 1 association which resides in the orion arm of the galaxy. The christmas tree cluster ngc 2264 is an open cluster of about 40 stars in the constellation monoceros which is immersed in nebulosity and forms the nearly perfect outline of a fir tree. The diverse population of the cluster includes several dozen ob stars and over 400 lower mass stars.
It is part of the ngc 2264 region along with the cone nebula and the fox fur nebula and belongs to the monoceros ob1 association a loose association of very young stars located in the orion arm of the milky way. Ngc 2264 christmas tree cluster. 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 christmas tree cluster is a young open cluster located in the constellation monoceros.