NASA made a captivating announcement on Tuesday, revealing the discovery of NGC 2264, a cluster of youthful stars forming a striking resemblance to a Christmas tree adorned with bright lights. Situated in the Milky Way, approximately 2,500 light-years away, this celestial gathering, famously known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” features stars aged between 1 and 5 million years.
In this latest image of NGC 2264, the cosmic tree shape is illuminated by the radiant glow of stellar lights. The cluster boasts a diverse range of stars, varying in size from less than a tenth of the Sun’s mass to others with about seven solar masses. NASA highlighted the intriguing fact that the blue and white lights emanate from young stars emitting X-rays, as detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
According to NASA, optical data from the National Science Foundation’s WIYN 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak displays gas in the nebula in green, resembling the ‘pine needles’ of the tree. Additionally, infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey presents foreground and background stars in white.
Chandra and other telescopes observed various fluctuations caused by diverse processes. These include magnetic field-related activities, such as powerful flares exceeding those experienced by the Sun, as well as hot spots and dark regions on rotating stars’ surfaces. Variations in gas thickness obscuring stars, along with changes in the material falling onto stars from surrounding gas disks, contribute to the dynamic and captivating features of NGC 2264.
