Copyright:Michael Kalika
中文翻譯:
在遙遠的宇宙中，有一個叫做NGC 2264的星星形成區域，這裡美麗而又複雜的星際氣體和塵埃排列在一起，距離我們約有2,700光年。在一個推測的幻幻的星座—獨角獸座（Monoceros）中，我們可以看到這個星系的畫面。當我們仰望這片天空時，會看到紅色的發射星雲，這些星雲是被新生的星星釋放出的強大光芒所激發的，還有一些黑色的星際塵埃雲。在這些佈滿星星的區域中，有些塵埃雲靠近年輕的星星，能反射星光，形成了藍色的反射星雲。在NGC 2264的中心附近，我們可以看到一顆明亮的變星S Monocerotis，周圍彷彿被藍色的光暈環繞著。這些星星像一棵簡單的三角形聖誕樹，星群被大家親切地稱為聖誕樹星團。而在聖誕樹的頂端，有一個叫做鍙錐星雲的地方，它就像一棵宇宙聖誕樹的樹梢，而在樹下，閃爍出光芒的氣體和塵埃形成了一個叫做狐狸毛星雲的地方。這幅壯觀的天文畫面，從上到下大約有1.5度，或是三個滿月那麼大，表示距離NGC 2264的寬度近80光年。
原文:
A star forming region cataloged as NGC 2264, this beautiful but complex arrangement of interstellar gas and dust is about 2,700 light-years distant in the faint but fanciful constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. Seen toward the celestial equator and near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, the seasonal skyscape mixes reddish emission nebulae excited by energetic light from newborn stars with dark interstellar dust clouds. Where the otherwise obscuring dust clouds lie close to the hot, young stars, they also reflect starlight, forming blue reflection nebulae. In fact, bright variable star S Monocerotis is immersed in a blue-tinted haze near center. Arrayed with a simple triangular outline above S Monocerotis, the stars of NGC 2264 are popularly known as the Christmas Tree star cluster. Carved by energetic starlight, the Cone Nebula sits upside down at the apex of this cosmic Christmas tree while the dusty, convoluted pelt of glowing gas and dust under the tree is called the Fox Fur Nebula. This rich telescopic frame spans about 1.5 degrees or 3 full moons on the sky top to bottom, covering nearly 80 light-years at the distance of NGC 2264.
來源:NASA每日圖片
