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Journalism of Courage
As Christmas draws closer, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shared an image of a swarm of stars and gas also known as “Christmas Tree Cluster”.
The photo was captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. “It’s beginning to look a lot like cosmos. Our @ChandraXray Observatory recently spotted the blue-and-white lights that decorate the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” a swarm of stars and gas some 2,500 light-years from Earth,” says the caption of the photo shared on X.
“The Christmas Tree Cluster, a collection of stars set against a gaseous green nebula. The nebula is triangular-shaped with spiky projections, resembling a Christmas tree, and dotted with blue and white stars that look like Christmas ornaments. Stars and other cosmic objects shine across the rest of the image,” NASA described the image. “The cluster’s resemblance to a Christmas tree has been enhanced through image rotation and color choices,” the space agency further said.
According to NASA, this image of NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster”, shows the shape of a cosmic tree with the glow of stellar lights. It said the NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars – with ages between about one and five million years old – in our Milky Way about 2,500 light-years away from Earth. It further said the stars in NGC 2264 are both smaller and larger than the Sun, ranging from some with less than a tenth the mass of the Sun to others containing about seven solar masses.
“Merry Christmas from millions of light-years away the Christmas Tree Cluster,” a user commented. “Someone tell the Christmas Tree Cluster they’re a bit early on the holiday lights trend! Must be feeling extra festive this year,” said another.
“NASA discovering cosmic space Christmas lights while I still struggle with untangling my tree lights,” wrote a third.
