Cone and Fox Fur Nebulae
Unicorn, and a Christmas Tree
NGC 2264

Glowing hydrogen gas fills this gorgeously detailedsky view centered onthe variable star S Mon in the faint but fanciful constellation Monoceros ,the Unicorn.A star forming region ( NGC 2264 ), the complex jumble of cosmic gas anddust is about 2,700 light-years distant andmixes reddish emission nebulae excited by energetic light from newborn stars with dark interstellar dust clouds.Where the otherwise obscuring dust clouds lie closeto stars they also reflect starlight, forming blue reflection nebulae .The wide vista spans about 1.5 degrees or nearly 3 full moons,covering 70 light-years at the distance of NGC 2264.Its cast of cosmic characters includes the Cone Nebula (far left),the Fox Fur Nebula , whose convoluted pelt lies just below S Mon, and the Christmas Tree star cluster.The triangular ChristmasTree cluster appears sideways here,with its apex at the Cone Nebula and its broader basecentered on S Mon.

Copyright: Russell Croman
Text: APOD, 2/28/2003