Stunning image shows cosmic ‘Christmas tree’ glowing in space

A space phenomenon is spreading some holiday cheer with what looks like a Christmas tree in the stars.

NASA said that a telescope captured an image of NGC 2264, which is a cluster of young stars aged between one and five million years old.

NGC 2264 — also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster” since it looks like a cosmic tree with strings of glowing lights — can be found in the Milk Way, about 2,500 light-years from Earth.

According to NASA, the stars in NGC 2264 are both smaller and larger than the Sun.

The image shows the cluster that has been rotated about 160 degrees from the astronomer’s standard of North pointing upwards. This puts the peak of the conical tree shape near the top. (The Hill)

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