Editing Cone Nebula

{{Short description|H II region in the constellation Monoceros}}
{{Infobox nebula
| name = Cone Nebula
| image = Cone Nebula (NGC 2264) Star-Forming Pillar of Gas and Dust.jpg
|caption= Taken on April 2, 2002 by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]
| type= H II region
| type2 = [[dark nebula]]
| epoch = [[J2000.0]]
| ra = {{RA|06|41|15}}<ref name="SEDS">{{cite web|url=http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2264.html|title=SEDS information on NGC2264|publisher=Students for the Exploration and Development of Space|accessdate=2009-03-27}}</ref>
| dec = {{DEC|+09|21}}<ref name="SEDS" />
| dist_ly = 2,700<ref name="NASA">{{Cite APOD|date=7 January 2002|title=The Mysterious Cone Nebula|access-date=2009-03-27}}</ref>
| appmag_v =&nbsp;—
| size_v = 3 [[Minute of arc|arcmins]]<ref name="SEDS" />
| constellation = [[Monoceros (constellation)|Monoceros]]
| radius_ly = 4<ref>2,700 × sin( 10′ / 2 ) = 3-4 ly. radius</ref>
| absmag_v =&nbsp;—
| notes = [[Christmas Tree Cluster]]
| names = NGC 2264 (portion)
}}
[[File:Cone Nebula from the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter Schulman Telescope courtesy Adam Block.jpg|alt=Cone Nebula from the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter Schulman Telescope courtesy Adam Block.|left|thumb|217x217px|A image of the Cone nebula and the [[molecular cloud]] surrounding it This image was taken from the [[Mount Lemmon]] SkyCenter Schulman Telescope.]]
The '''Cone Nebula''' is an [[H II region]] in the constellation of [[Monoceros (constellation)|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 [[parsec]]s or 2,700 [[light-year]]s 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.

==Description==
The diffuse Cone Nebula, so named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of [[NGC 2264]], the northern part being the magnitude-3.9 [[Christmas Tree Cluster]].  It is in the northern part of [[Monoceros (constellation)|Monoceros]], just north of the midpoint of a line from [[Procyon]] to [[Betelgeuse]].

The cone's shape comes from a dark [[absorption nebula]] consisting of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint [[emission nebula]] containing hydrogen ionized by [[S Monocerotis]], the brightest star of NGC 2264.  The faint nebula is approximately seven light-years long (with an apparent length of 10 [[arcminute]]s), and is 2,700 light-years from Earth.

The nebula is part of a much larger star-forming complex—the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] was used to capture images of forming stars in 1997.

==See also==
* [[Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena]]

==Notes and references==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cone Nebula}}
* {{cite web|url=http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2264.html|title=NGC 2264, the Cone Nebula and the Xmas Tree|work=SEDS Messier Database}}
* {{cite APOD |date=7 January 2002 |title=The Mysterious Cone Nebula}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023722/http://www.spacetelescope.org/bin/images.pl?embargo=0&viewtype=viewall&searchtype=freesearch&lang=en&string=2264 Cone Nebula pictures from ESA-Hubble]
* [http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2002/11/image/b Hubble image of Cone Nebula]
* {{cite simbad|title=NAME Cone Nebula}}

{{NGC2264}}

[[Category:NGC 2264]]
[[Category:Dark nebulae]]
[[Category:Diffuse nebulae]]
[[Category:Monoceros]]
[[Category:H II regions]]
[[Category:Astronomical objects discovered in 1785]]
[[Category:Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena]]