Merry Christmas...from deep space! This nebula is known by a few names, but to me its best name is the Christmas Tree Cluster because of its resemblance to a Christmas Tree with the stars as ornaments. The cone at the top is also called the Cone Nebula but here it makes a nice tree-topper.

I photographed this nebula for over 10 hours to bring out the details in the gasses since it is a very dim target.

This is my gift for Christmas 2023.

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Genre: Astrophotography

Year Created: 2023

License: Extended Editorial