NASA has demonstrated a star cluster shaped like a Christmas tree
The American space agency NASA released an image of the star cluster NGC 2264, which has been named the "Christmas Tree" due to its resemblance to a holiday tree.
This cluster of young stars, aged between 1 and 5 million years, is located approximately 2,500 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Monoceros.
The image was created using data from the “Chandra” X-ray Observatory and an optical telescope operating in the visible spectrum, as well as astrophotographer Michael Klou.
In the image, bright blue and white stars are surrounded by gas clouds that visually resemble the needles of a Christmas tree. The red, purple, and blue hues in the image represent data from “Chandra”, while the green and purple areas were captured with the optical telescope.
NGC 2264 is also known as the Snowflake Cluster.
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