NASA publishes image of star cluster shaped like a Christmas tree

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This is the star cluster NGC 2264, located about 2,500 light years from Earth.

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NASA published, on December 19, 2023, the image of the"Christmas tree cluster", located approximately 2,500 light years from Earth. (NASA)

Christmas…in space. On Tuesday, December 19, NASA released an image of the star cluster NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas tree cluster”. We see young stars there, “about one to five million years old”specifies NASA, located in the Milky Way “about 2,500 light years from Earth”. They are surrounded by a green colored nebula. To reinforce the resemblance, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in turn published an animated image, making certain stars flash like a garland. “It gets me into the holiday spirit.”commented astronaut Buzz Aldrin on.

This image is the result of a combination of “data from several telescopes, optical, infrared and X-ray”, specifies the Cité de l’espace de Toulouse on its site. The gas nebula was observed by the WIYN optical telescope located in the United States, some stars were captured by the Chandra X-ray telescope and others by the 2MASS project. These different versions are available online. The image was then rotated 160° so that the top of the tree appeared at the top. “L’cluster can be seen with the naked eye, but more easily with binoculars or a telescope.completes the Cité de l’espace.


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