Also known as the “Christmas Tree Group,” this new image of NGC 2264 shows the appearance of a cosmic tree illuminated by starlight. NGC 2264 is actually a cluster of dwarf stars in our Milky Way about 2,500 light years from Earth — ages ranging from about one to five million years The stars in NGC 2264 are younger and more massive than the Sun, some less than a tenth the Sun the size of the others about seven giant suns.
This new composite image enhances the appearance of a Christmas tree with a variety of colors and techniques. The blue and white lights (flashing in this animated image) are small X-ray emitting stars detected by NASA's Lunar X-ray Observatory Optical data from the National Science Foundation WIYN WIYN 0.9 meter lens the Kit Peak telescope shows gas in the nebula in green. Pine needles” align, and the Two Micron All Sky Survey infrared data show stars with a white foreground and background.
This image is rotated clockwise about 160 degrees upward from the astronomer's response standard, so that the top of the pole appears to point toward the top of the image
Young stars, such as those in NGC 2264, are bright and, when observed in X-ray and other forms of light, have intense flares The coherent, cooling changes shown in the in this picture is artificial, and emphasizes the position of the stars seen in X-rays , Christmas in relation to this object -The stars are not really as aligned as they might seem the tree is emphasized.
The changes observed by the moon and other telescopes are caused by many different processes. Some of these are associated with magnetic field-related activity, such as sun-like — but more powerful — flares and hotspots and dark spots on the surface of stars that move out of sight as stars rotate.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the lunar program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Lunar X-Ray Center manages science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
