It turns out Christmas isn’t just celebrated here on Earth. In a truly festive display of cosmic wonder, NASA astronomers are sharing a new image of NGC 2264, charmingly nicknamed the “Christmas Tree Cluster.” This jolly celestial phenomenon, located about 2,500 light-years away in our Milky Way Galaxy, resembles a Christmas tree adorned with stellar lights, providing an exciting holiday treat for space enthusiasts.
NGC 2264 is not your ordinary cluster of stars. It’s a young, vibrant group, with members aged between one and five million years. These stars vary significantly in size, ranging from those less than a tenth the mass of our Sun to some boasting up to seven solar masses. This diversity adds to the cluster’s unique appearance and scientific intrigue.
‘Christmas Tree Cluster’ Bursts With Colorful Cosmic Activity
The Christmas tree resemblance is no accident. Astronomers have enhanced this effect by carefully choosing colors and rotating the image. The image features blue and white lights, representing young stars emitting X-rays, as captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. These stars blink in the animated version of the image seen below, mimicking the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree.
Adding to the tree-like appearance, optical data from the National Science Foundation’s WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak reveals the nebula’s gas in shades of green, forming the tree’s “pine needles.” Infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey highlights other stars in the background, shining in white. Interestingly, the image has been rotated about 160 degrees from the usual astronomical orientation to enhance the tree-like shape.
The stars in NGC 2264 are known for their volatility. They experience intense flares in X-rays and other light variations. In the animation, these variations are artificially synchronized to emphasize the stars’ locations and enhance the Christmas tree analogy. In reality, these variations are not in sync but are caused by several phenomena, including powerful magnetic field activities, hot spots, dark regions on the stars’ surfaces, and changes in surrounding gas.
This awe-inspiring work is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, with the Chandra program playing a key role. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center oversees the scientific and flight operations from Massachusetts.
