• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
NASA discovers "Christmas Tree Cluster" of stars glowing in space

Home> Science> Space

Published 10:46 21 Dec 2023 GMT

NASA discovers "Christmas Tree Cluster" of stars glowing in space

Is this a Christmas message from space?

Kerri-Ann Roper

Kerri-Ann Roper

Christmas isn't limited to pulling crackers on Earth.

According to some new images from NASA, it's also being marked as an occasion in the cosmos, and no better than in the form of stars.

The space agency’s latest discovery brings the festive spirit to space with a “Christmas Tree Cluster".

Named NGC 2264, the cluster of young stars, shimmering like holiday lights, is situated in our very own Milky Way galaxy, about 2,500 light-years away from Earth.

Advert

NASA has found a 'Christmas tree' constellation
NASA has found a 'Christmas tree' constellation

This celestial Christmas tree isn't your typical festive decoration.

It's a formation of stars, some of which are even larger than our sun, and aged between one and five million years.

NASA captured the cluster's essence in a tweet, quipping on X, formally known as Twitter: "It's beginning to look a lot like cosmos":

Advert

And it’s not far off.

The composite image of NGC 2264 does indeed mimic a Christmas tree, bathed in a radiant green glow with blue and white sparkles that resemble twinkling lights.

However, the green isn't from pine needles but from gas, and those sparkles aren't festive lights but young stars emitting X-rays. Although NASA admitted that the blue and white dots were deliberately animated to flicker, showing their location and enhancing the resemblance of a Christmas tree.

Also, its appearance in space isn’t exactly as it appears in the image. NGC 2264's resemblance to a festive evergreen was embellished somewhat by rotating the image approximately 160 degrees and positioning the tree's peak towards the top, NASA said. Have we been had?

Advert

X-ray and Infrared Images of NGC 2264 from NASA.
NASA

“Young stars, like those in NGC 2264, are volatile and undergo strong flares in X-rays and other types of variations seen in different types of light,” NASA said in a post.

“The coordinated, blinking variations shown in this animation, however, are artificial, to emphasize the locations of the stars seen in X-rays and highlight the similarity of this object to a Christmas tree. In reality, the variations of the stars are not synchronized.”

Featured Image Credit: Credit: NASA / Sharamand / Getty
Space
Nasa
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Scientist made shock admission ahead of NASA mission to asteroid 'worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000'
  • Space capsule carrying ashes of 166 people plunges to Earth after hitting 'anomaly'
  • NASA astronaut shares jaw-dropping footage of Hurricane Milton from space
  • NASA astronauts stranded in space for nine months finally emerge after months of intense therapy

Choose your content:

25 mins ago
17 hours ago
19 hours ago
20 hours ago
  • 25 mins ago

    Psychologist reveals simple everyday act that can has power to completely change your relationship

    Experts believe this mundane chore could be the key to keeping your relationship happy

    Science
  • 17 hours ago

    Scientist made shock admission ahead of NASA mission to asteroid 'worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000'

    It's not what most people want to hear

    Science
  • 19 hours ago

    Ozempic users share shocking ‘Ozempic sex’ side effect that not many people know about

    It's not just your wasitline that could be shrinking

    Science
  • 20 hours ago

    Solar panels illegal in 49 states could transform energy for the USA

    A YouTuber showed how the solar panels can be plugged into a home outlet

    Science