Open cluster
Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC2264)
In Monoceros (Mon) • Magnitude 3.9 • 11 arcminutes
Open the free AstroPlanner with Christmas Tree Cluster pre-selected, scored against your telescope, location, and the live cloud forecast.
Open cluster shaped like a Christmas tree, surrounded by the Cone Nebula and Fox Fur Nebula.
Christmas Tree Cluster at a glance
| Catalog IDs | N 2264 |
| Type | Open cluster |
| Constellation | Monoceros (Mon) |
| Right ascension | 06h 40m 58s |
| Declination | +09° 53' 44" |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.90 |
| Angular size | 11.4 × 11.4 arcmin |
| Max altitude at 45°N | 55° |
| Best imaging months | Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb |
How to image Christmas Tree Cluster
Christmas Tree Cluster sits in the constellation Monoceros at right ascension 06h 40m 58s and declination +09° 53' 44". To frame and integrate it well, AstroPlanner will compute the optimal moonless window for tonight from your location, the field-of-view fit against your sensor and focal length, the suggested total integration time given your aperture and sky Bortle class, and a cloud-aware schedule that drops it from the plan if your nearest cloud forecast spike overlaps the best altitude window.