More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
Christmas Tree Cluster
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Monoceros, the Christmas Tree Cluster is born from a cloud of gas glowing red. At the top, the Cone Nebula; at the base, the star S Mon and the blue dust it lights up.
| Catalogue | New General Catalogue, 1888 · NGC 2264 (Sh2-273) |
| Type | Open cluster and emission nebula |
| Distance | ≈ 2,350 light-years |
| Field | 54.9′ × 83.6′ |
| Real width | ≈ 37 × 57 light-years |
| Scale | 0.54″ / pixel |
| Orientation | 173° · south up |
| RA (centre) | 06h 41m 05s |
| DEC (centre) | +09° 47′ 05″ |
| Constellation | Monoceros |
| Objects in field | NGC 2264 · Cone · Fox Fur · IRS 1 · IRS 2 · LDN 1613 |
Distance of the cluster measured with Gaia (Maíz Apellániz 2019, 719 ± 16 parsecs); the real width assumes that distance. The image has south up, so the tree appears upright. Position of the Cone from the coordinates of the ESA/Hubble image; that of the Fox Fur Nebula, which has no catalogue coordinates, was measured on the image and is approximate.
15 h 30 min of light
Each tick is one exposure. 200 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 50 darks, 50 flats and 50 bias. The Moon stayed below 85 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Sky-Watcher CQ350 Pro
ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics Maxfield .95X Coma Corrector · ZWO EAF
Player One Anti-Halo Pro Dual-Band Ha+OIII Filter 2"
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · ZWO ASIAIR
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3