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NGC 2264 is the designation number of the New General Catalogue that identifies two astronomical objects as a single object:

  • the Cone Nebula,
  • the Christmas Tree Cluster,
Two other objects are within this designation but not officially included:
  • Snowflake Cluster,
  • and the Fox Fur Nebula.
All of the objects are located in the Monoceros constellation and are located about 800 parsecs or 2600 light-years from Earth.

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.


Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ106ED
Imaging cameras: QSI 6120i
Mounts: Takahashi EM 400 Temma 2M 
Guiding telescopes or lenses: QHY Mini Guide Scope
Guiding cameras: QHY CCD QHY 5 L II
Focal reducer: Takahashi QE 0.73x
Software: PHD 2,  Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight ,  Sequence Generator Pro SGP
Filters: Astrodon 3nm Ha, SII & OIII 
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser,  ATIK EFW2

Original Resolution: 3485 x 2170
Dates: 13th Feb '17 to 2nd Mar '17

Frames: 
Astrodon 3nm Ha         24 x 1200"
Astrodon 3nm OIII        16 x 1200"
Astrodon 3nm SII          17 x 1200"

Integration: 19 Hours 

Center (RA, Dec): (100.238, 9.883)
Center (RA, hms): 06h 40m 57.061s
Center (Dec, dms): +09° 53' 00.418"
Size: 95.6 x 59.5 arcmin
Radius: 0.939 deg
Pixel scale: 1.65 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is -91.1 degrees E of N
Sky Plot
Annotated Image