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THE
CHRISTMAS TREE AND CONE REGION
NGC 2264 - EMISSION NEBULA PLUS CLUSTER IN MONOCEROS
Just north of Orion in the winter Milky Way constellation of Monoceros, this area of nebulosity makes up one of the most colorful and exciting areas of the night sky. Pictured above is NGC 2264, an open cluster of stars known as the "Christmas Tree" due to its characteristic shape. At the top of the image, and pictured in the inset below, is the Cone Nebula, an areas of stellar growth activity that is one of the more pictured areas of the sky. The rolling nebulosity around the center of the image is known as the "Foxfur." Also pictured here at the lower left corner of the image is NGC 2259, a 10.8 magnitude open star cluster.
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| Detailed section of the Cone Nebula. |
Date:
December
8, 2004 (Ha info) and December 10, 2004 (color info)
Location: The Ballauer Observatory near
Azle, Texas (Ha info) and Comanche Springs near Crowell, Texas (color
info)
Transparency: 4.8 mag zenithal (Ballauer
Observatory) and 6.8 mag zenithal (Comanche Springs)
Seeing:
2/10 (Ballauer Observatory) and 3/10 (Comanche Springs)
Temperature: 55 degrees F (Ballauer
Observatory) and 38 degrees F (Comanche Springs); camera cooled
to -25 degrees C
Scope/Mount: Tak FSQ-106
@ f/5 and Tak NJP mount
Camera: SBIG STL-6303E, self-guided
Exposure Info: Ha(Ha+R)GB,
180:30:30:30 minutes; 15 minute individual exposures for Ha and
2 minute exposures for RGB; all unbinned.
Processing: Dark
frame calibration, deblooming, registration, artificial flats, gradient
removal and Sigma Combine in
MaxIm DL 4. Digital Development and RGB combine in MaxIm DL
4. Ha blending, color balance, curves, levels, selective sharpening/blurring/despeckle
in Photoshop CS.
Extra Notes: Ha info blended into red at 70%. Ha info then used again as luminance at 50%. A string was taped to end of aperture to create the diffraction spikes.
Previous Attempts:
NGC 2264 - The Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster
Do you see the Christmas tree? The bright star at right is the base of the tree and the stars trace the edges of the tree to the bright star at left in the image, representing the top of the tree. It's at this point that the Cone Nebula begins. The Cone itself is a dark nebula of gases and dust. But out from behind it comes a celestial star factory, where some young stars are being produced. The region is easily seen in the winter sky constellation of Monoceros. The cluster and brighter parts of the emission nebula can be seen through small to medium sized scopes, but it requires large aperture and dark skies to make out the Cone Nebula.
Location: Ballauer
Observatory in Azle, Texas
Seeing: 8/10
(1.3 FWHM)
Transparency:
4/10
Date and Time: December
29, 2003
Equipment: SBIG
ST-7E, Tak FSQ-106 @ f/5, and Celestron CGE mount
Exposure Info: Grayscale image (6 x 10 minutes)
Processing Information: MaxIm (Gradient removal, dark subtract, align and combine), Photoshop 7 (Levels,
Curves, Blur/sharpen)
Exposure Notes: String over aperture creates the diffraction spikes. This object could use lots of more exposure time and some color info, but I think it's quite nice.
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