NGC 2264
Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster
A winter emission complex in Monoceros
A 2021 look at the Cone Nebula region, pairing bright emission with dark dust and embedded young stars.
This frame remains part of the Lost Photons archive.
- What am I looking at?
- The Cone Nebula region includes the Cone itself, the Christmas Tree Cluster, and the Fox Fur Nebula in a single star-forming complex.
- How far away is it?
- About 2,700 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Monoceros, near Orion in the winter Milky Way.
- Why does it matter?
- A classic narrowband region where dark dust cones point toward young stars.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Winter nights when Monoceros and Orion are high.
Capture summary
Nebula in Monoceros
Ha, OIII, SII
Ha, OIII, SII
Winter target / wide composition
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 3h 35m 43 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 50m 10 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 2h 25m 29 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Red 20m 20 x 60s
- Chroma 36mm Green 20m 20 x 60s
- Chroma 36mm Blue 20m 20 x 60s
- Totals 7h 50m
Same target, different years.
Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.
When to image this target
Nebula in Monoceros; best planned for December through February from New Jersey.
Winter targets reward clear, steady nights and usually climb well by late evening.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
NGC 2264 is listed here in Monoceros.
Current frame: Narrowband / Ha, OIII, SII.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame.
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 43 x 300s, 3h 35m
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 10 x 300s, 50m
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 29 x 300s, 2h 25m
- Chroma 36mm Red 20 x 60s, 20m
- Chroma 36mm Green 20 x 60s, 20m
- Chroma 36mm Blue 20 x 60s, 20m
- Totals 7h 50m
How I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm | 43 x 300s | 3h 35m |
| Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm | 10 x 300s | 50m |
| Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm | 29 x 300s | 2h 25m |
| Chroma 36mm Red | 20 x 60s | 20m |
| Chroma 36mm Green | 20 x 60s | 20m |
| Chroma 36mm Blue | 20 x 60s | 20m |
| Totals | — | 7h 50m |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
