NASA shares a photo of a star cluster that looks like a Christmas tree

NASA has published a photo of the star cluster NGC 2264, also known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster" because of its resemblance to a Christmas tree, reports UNN.

Details

NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars with an age from 1 million to 5 million years old in the Milky Way at a distance of about 2500 light years from Earth.

The stars in NGC 2264 are both smaller and larger than the Sun, ranging from those with less than a 10th of the Sun's mass to to those with about seven solar masses.

The photo released by NASA is a new combined image, which enhances the resemblance to a Christmas tree through the choice of color and rotation. The blue and white lights (flashing in the animated version of this image) are young stars that emit X-rays.