There are just a couple of days left until the Christmas holiday and my vacation, so far, has been plagued by overcast skies and relentless snowfall. If the weather continues to be as nasty as it has been for the last few days then there is a good chance that I will not be able to take a scope out at all this week. Fortunately, there are still many parts of the country that will celebrate the holidays with clear skies and I want to take this opportunity to talk about a wonderful astronomy target that can help get you into the holiday spirit: the Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264).

The Christmas Tree Cluster is a faint open cluster in the Constellation Monoceros (Greek for Unicorn) near the celestial equator. It is part of a larger celestial region known as NGC 2264 that includes the cluster itself and the magnificent Hubble Space Telescope target called the Cone Nebula. The region gets its named from the arrangement of the 30+ stars that form an almost perfect outline of a Douglas Fir tree. NGC 2264 rises around 1930hrs EST in the eastern sky and is located 11 degrees southwest of the bright star Betelgeuse in Orion. You do not need a large telescope to see this beautiful group of stars as it travels across the heavens. A small (at least 3” reflector/refractor recommended) to medium sized scope will be enough to give a breathtaking view. It was discovered by the famous astronomer William Herschel in 1785.

The nightShifted Astronomy Facebook Group will debut after the new year along with more regular posts. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!