Sh2-273 Narrowband

Many photographers tend to call this view Cone Nebula, although Cone Nebula is really only a small part of Sh2-273. The designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 2264, and it refers to the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster formed in this emission nebula. This widefield image shows the whole Sh2-273 nebula, hence the image title.

This particular region in the Monoceros constellation is fascinating, with many objects of various sizes suitable for telescopes with longer focal lengths. One of them is NGC2261, which is also known as the Hubble's Variable Nebula. You can easily find its distinctive bright ghost-like shape by zooming in the image slightly up and right from the Cone Nebula. Unfortunately, reflection nebulae do not show up well in narrowband filters.