11 Dec 2020
Christmas Tree Cluster & Cone Nebula
Best time of the year to image the colourful Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula (NGC 2264).
Both objects are located in the Monoceros constellation at about 2,600 light-years from Earth.
The Christmas Tree Cluster was named for its triangular shape, formed by a cluster of very young stars, that looks like a tree in visible light. The apex of the tree is located at the Cone Nebula. This diffuse nebula (and HII-region), so named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264,
This LRGB-image was captured with the ASA500N telescope and FLI PL16803 camera of Telescope Live in El Sauce Observatory, Chile.
Acquisition:
3x300 second exposures with L, R, G and B filters.
Total Exposure: 1 hour
Processing with AstroPixelProcessor and Photoshop CC with AstroPanel 4.2 & Franzis Denoise Projects 3 plug-ins.
NGC 2264
1 credit
- Type of target............................................................................................................................Emission Nebula
- Camera............................................................................................................................FLI PL16803
- Target coordinates............................................................................................................................RA 100.22083 Dec 9.815
- Hemisphere............................................................................................................................Southern
- Telescope location............................................................................................................................Chile
- Transient event............................................................................................................................No
- Observed on............................................................................................................................16 Dec 2020 - 21 Dec 2020
Filter | Avg Exp (s) | Total Exposure | Subframes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luminance | 300 | 20m | 4 |
| Red | 400 | 20m | 3 |
| Green | 800 | 40m | 3 |
| Blue | 200 | 10m | 3 |