The Cone Nebula
| H-alpha image from 20 x 5 min exposures, binned 1:1, SBIG ST10XME/AO8; C9.25 at f/4.8, click on image for full-size |
The Cone Nebula lies at one end of the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. It is about
2,500 light-years away the constellation Monoceros. The cone shaped nebula of dust and gas is
around 7 light-years long. The cone's blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. That distance
is just over half way from the Sun to its nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri. A massive star
(NGC 2264 IRS), seen by Hubble's infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting
the Cone Nebula and lies hidden in the dust toward the top of the image. The Cone Nebula's bright
veil is produced by glowing hydrogen gas.
2,500 light-years away the constellation Monoceros. The cone shaped nebula of dust and gas is
around 7 light-years long. The cone's blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. That distance
is just over half way from the Sun to its nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri. A massive star
(NGC 2264 IRS), seen by Hubble's infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting
the Cone Nebula and lies hidden in the dust toward the top of the image. The Cone Nebula's bright
veil is produced by glowing hydrogen gas.
| Closeup of the Cone Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002 (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2002/11/image/b/) |