NASA image

This star cluster looks like a Christmas tree

(Bild: NASA)

"Shining stars illuminate 'Christmas tree star cluster'": This is how the US space agency NASA titled a new image that it published on its website on Thursday. One look explains why the star cluster NGC 2264 has earned its nickname.

Astrophotographer Michael Clow took a photo of NGC 2264 in visible light from Arizona in November. His optical data was combined with X-ray data from NASA's Chandra Space Observatory to create this beautiful Christmas image of the star cluster, showing not only its suns but also the gas clouds between them.

The image was rotated by about 150 degrees from the standard astronomical view, where images are oriented to the north (up). As a result, the tip of the nearly cone-shaped tree is near the top of the image.

NASA also publishes animation
NASA has also published the images as a short animation (see video above). In it, blue and white X-ray dots from "Chandra" flicker and twinkle on the tree, like electric lights on a Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree star cluster (scientific catalog name NGC 2264, note) is a so-called open star cluster at a distance of around 2500 light years in the constellation Unicorn. It was discovered in January 1784 by the German-British astronomer and composer Wilhelm Herschel.