Took this over a few days... didn't realize there was so much Oiii in this area...
NGC 2264 is the designation number of the
New General Catalogue that identifies two
astronomical objects as a single object: the
Cone Nebula, and the Christmas Tree Cluster. Two other objects are within this designation but not officially included, the
Snowflake Cluster,
[3][4] and the
Fox Fur Nebula.
[5] All of the objects are located in the
Monoceros constellation and are located about 720
parsecs or 2,300
light-years from
Earth.
[2] Due to its relative proximity and large size, it is extremely well-studied.
[6] NGC 2264 is sometimes referred to as the Christmas Tree Cluster and the
Cone Nebula. However, the designation of NGC 2264 in the
New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the cluster alone.
[7]Structure:
NGC 2264:
Cone Nebula at bottom with inverted Christmas Tree cluster above the cone; the bright
star just above the cone is the tree topper and the very bright
star at the top of the image (
S Monocerotis) is the center of the tree trunk. The
Fox Fur Nebula is at the top right corner. The
Snowflake nebula is in the middle which shows up better on the
infrared image. Credit
ESONGC 2264 is the location where the Cone Nebula, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster and the Christmas Tree Cluster have formed in this emission
nebula. For reference, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster is located 2,700
light years away in the constellation Monoceros.The Snowflake Cluster was granted its name due to its unmistakable pinwheel-like shape and its assortment of bright colors. The Christmas Tree star formation consists of young stars obscured by heavy layers of dust clouds. These dust clouds, along with hydrogen and helium are producing luminous new stars. The combination of dense clouds and an array of colors creates a color map filled with varying
wavelengths. As seen in the photographs taken by the
Spitzer Space telescope, we are able to differentiate between young red stars and older blue stars.With varying youthful stars comes vast changes to the overall structure of the clusters and
nebula. For a cluster to be considered a Snowflake, it must remain in the original location the star was formed.When referring to this emission
nebula overall, there are several aspects that contribute to the prominent configuration of a snowflake and/or Christmas tree cluster. There is a diverse arrangement of brilliant colors, and an evolving process of structure that follow
star formation in a nebula.The ratio of
brown dwarfs to
stars is between 1 to 2.5 and 1 to 7.5.
[6] 
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