The Cone Nebula (NGC2264) was discovered in 1785 by William Herschel.
It can be found at a distance of 2.600 light years in the northern part of the constellation Monoceros.

The Cone Nebula is an extensive nebula region surrounding the so called “Christmas Tree Cluster” and it is a part of a much larger complex which is currently actively forming new stars. NGC2264 refers to both the nebula as the star cluster.
The blue emission nebula is caused by ionized hydrogen by the star S Monocerotis.

NGC2261, also known as “Hubble’s Variable Nebula” can be found at the very bottom of the image.