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Robert Chozick | all galleries >> Galleries >> Deep Sky Images > Cone and Fox Fur Nebulas inside the Christmas Tree Cluster in Monoceros
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01-Mar-2026

Cone and Fox Fur Nebulas inside the Christmas Tree Cluster in Monoceros

Paducah Skies Observatory

The Cone Nebula is part of the image on the right that looks like a narrow volcano cone. It is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 830 parsecs or 2,700 light-years from Earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity surrounding the Christmas Tree Cluster. The designation of NGC 2264 in the New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the nebula alone.

The Fox Fur Nebula is the area in the middle of the image to the left of the bright part. It resembles the head of a red fox and his fur.

Paducah Skies Observatory is a private observatory SW of Paducah, TX. It sits on 45 acres of native Texas grasslands and mesquite trees. The skies are 21.99 on the light pollution scale (almost Bortle 1).

Takahashi Epsilon 130 D Hyper Newtonian f/3.3
ZWO ASI6200MC Pro OSC Full Frame CMOS camera
Baader Vario Finder mounted as Guidescope
ZWO ASI178MM Guide Camara
Astro Physics 900 GTO mount

OSC 5 min 132 exp (100 gain/30 offset)
OSC 60 sec 12 exp (100 gain/30 offset) for brighter stars and bright regions

Guided with PHD 2
Captured with The SkyX
Processed in Siril, PixInsight and Photoshop full exif


other sizes: small medium large original auto
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