NGC 2264

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NGC 2264
Diffuse nebula
NGC 2264.jpg
An infrared Spitzer Space Telescope image of NGC 2264
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch
Subtype emission nebula
Right ascension 6h 41m [1]
Declination +9° 53 [1]
Distance2350 ± 52  ly    (719 ± 16 [2]   pc)
Apparent magnitude (V)3.9 [1]
Apparent dimensions (V)20′
Constellation Monoceros
Designations NGC 2264, Cr 112
See also: Lists of nebulae

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] In December 2023, NASA released Christmas holiday-related images by the James Webb Space Telescope, including the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster and others. [8]

Contents

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 ESO NGC 2264 by ESO.jpg
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 ESO

NGC 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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monoceros</span> Faint constellation on the celestial equator

Monoceros is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south, and Hydra to the east. Other bordering constellations include Canis Minor, Lepus, and Puppis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosette Nebula</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Monoceros

The Rosette Nebula is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trifid Nebula</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Sagittarius

The Trifid Nebula is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius in a star-forming region in the Milky Way's Scutum–Centaurus Arm. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its name means 'three-lobe'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and a dark nebula. Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and peculiar object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 604</span> H II region inside the Triangulum Galaxy

NGC 604 is an H II region inside the Triangulum Galaxy. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 11, 1784. It is among the largest H II regions in the Local Group of galaxies; at the galaxy's estimated distance of 2.7 million light-years, its longest diameter is roughly 1,520 light years (~460 parsecs), over 40 times the size of the visible portion of the Orion Nebula. It is over 6,300 times more luminous than the Orion Nebula, and if it were at the same distance it would outshine Venus. Its gas is ionized by a cluster of massive stars at its center with 200 stars of spectral type O and WR, a mass of 105 solar masses, and an age of 3.5 million years; however, unlike the Large Magellanic Cloud's Tarantula Nebula central cluster (R136), NGC 604's one is much less compact and more similar to a large stellar association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Nebula</span> Open cluster in the constellation Serpens

The Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745–46. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula, an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the aforementioned Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagoon Nebula</span> Emission nebula in Sagittarius

The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and has an H II region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 78</span> Reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion

Messier 78 or M78, also known as NGC 2068, is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cone Nebula</span> H II region in the constellation Monoceros

The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 830 parsecs or 2,700 light-years from Earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity surrounding the Christmas Tree Cluster. The designation of NGC 2264 in the New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the nebula alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sh 2-279</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Orion

Sh 2-279 is an HII region and bright nebulae that includes a reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion. It is the northernmost part of the asterism known as Orion's Sword, lying 0.6° north of the Orion Nebula. The reflection nebula embedded in Sh 2-279 is popularly known as the Running Man Nebula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7129</span> Reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus

NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula located 3,300 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. A young open cluster is responsible for illuminating the surrounding nebula. A recent survey indicates the cluster contains more than 130 stars less than 1 million years old. NGC 7129 is located just half a degree from nearby cluster NGC 7142.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2080</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Dorado

NGC 2080, also known as the Ghost Head Nebula, is a star-forming region and emission nebula to the south of the 30 Doradus (Tarantula) nebula, in the southern constellation Dorado. It belongs to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, which is at a distance of 168,000 light years. NGC 2080 was discovered by John Frederick William Herschel in 1834. The Ghost Head Nebula has a diameter of 50 light-years and is named for the two distinct white patches it possesses, called the "eyes of the ghost". The western patch, called A1, has a bubble in the center which was created by the young, massive star it contains. The eastern patch, called A2, has several young stars in a newly formed cluster, but they are still obscured by their originating dust cloud. Because neither dust cloud has dissipated due to the stellar radiation, astronomers have deduced that both sets of stars formed within the past 10,000 years. These stars together have begun to create a bubble in the nebula with their outpourings of material, called stellar wind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2174</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Orion

NGC 2174 is an H II emission nebula located in the constellation Orion and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2175. It is thought to be located about 6,400 light-years away from Earth. The nebula may have formed through hierarchical collapse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Fur Nebula</span> Nebula in the constellation Monoceros

The Fox Fur Nebula is a nebula located in the constellation of Monoceros not far off the right arm of Orion and included in the NGC 2264 Region. In the Sharpless catalog it is number 273.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 602</span> Open cluster in the constrellation Hydrus

NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. It is embedded in a nebula known as N90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6357</span> Emission nebula in the constellation Scorpius

NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius. The nebula contains many proto-stars shielded by dark discs of gas, and young stars wrapped in expanding "cocoons" or expanding gases surrounding these small stars. It is also known as the Lobster Nebula. This nebula was given the name War and Peace Nebula by the Midcourse Space Experiment scientists because of its appearance, which, in infrared images the bright, western part resembles a dove, while the eastern part looks like a skull. A petition by anime fans to rename it as the Madokami nebula, due to resemblance with a character, was unsuccessful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1333</span> Reflection nebula in the constellation Perseus

NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Perseus, positioned next to the southern constellation border with Taurus and Aries. It was first discovered by German astronomer Eduard Schönfeld in 1855. The nebula is visible as a hazy patch in a small telescope, while a larger aperture will show a pair of dark nebulae designated Barnard 1 and Barnard 2. It is associated with a dark cloud L1450. Estimates of the distance to this nebula range from 980–1,140 ly (300–350 pc).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2244</span> Open cluster within the Rosette nebula, in the constellation Monoceros

NGC 2244 is an open cluster in the Rosette Nebula, which is located in the constellation Monoceros. This cluster has several O-type stars, super hot stars that generate large amounts of radiation and stellar wind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IC 5146</span> Reflection nebula in the constellation Cygnus

IC 5146 is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster is also known as Collinder 470. It shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. Its celestial coordinates are RA 21h 53.5m, dec +47° 16′. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, and the bright open cluster M39. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RCW 49</span> H II region in the constellation Carina

RCW 49, also known as NGC 3247, is a H II region nebula located 13,700 light years away. Other designations for the RCW 49 region include NGC 3247 and G29 and it is commonly known as the Whirling Dervish Nebula. It is a dusty stellar nursery that contains more than 2,200 stars and is about 300-400 light years across. RCW 49 is recognized as among the brightest and most massive HII regions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NGC 2264". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 9 May 2007.
  2. 1 2 Maíz Apellániz, J. (2019). "Gaia DR2 distances to Collinder 419 and NGC 2264 and new astrometric orbits for HD 193 322 Aa,Ab and 15 Mon Aa,Ab". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 630: A119. arXiv: 1908.02040 . Bibcode:2019A&A...630A.119M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201935885. S2CID   199452805.
  3. Image sig05-028 Archived 2006-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Tom's Astronomy Blog » Blog Archive » The Christmas Tree Cluster". Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2006.
  5. Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (1 July 2002). "The Fox Fur Nebula". Astronomy Picture of the Day . NASA.
  6. 1 2 Pearson, Samuel; Scholz, Aleks; Teixeira, Paula S.; Mužić, Koraljka; Almendros-Abad, Víctor (2021). "The first spectroscopically confirmed brown dwarfs in NGC 2264". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 507 (3): 4074–4085. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stab2394 . hdl: 10023/24020 .
  7. Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 2250 - 2299". cseligman.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. Miller, Katrina (19 December 2023). "It's Christmastime in the Cosmos - Astronomers have a long tradition of finding holiday cheer in outer space". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.