Overview
- A UAE observatory released a deep optical image of NGC 2264 built from 35 hours of exposures taken over a month using a 108 mm refractor, a color camera, and a light-pollution filter.
- The local team credited Mohammad Ouda for imaging and Haitham Hamdi for processing with support from Osama Ghannam, Anas Mohammad, and Khalfan Al Nuaimi.
- Astronomy Magazine’s guide lists the target at magnitude 3.9 in Monoceros between Orion and Gemini and recommends viewing around 9 to 10 p.m. local time when it reaches about 40 degrees altitude.
- Observers can spot a roughly triangular star pattern about 20 arcminutes wide with binoculars or small telescopes, while the surrounding nebulosity and nearby Cone Nebula require larger apertures near 12 inches.
- Coverage notes differing distance estimates of roughly 2,300 or about 2,700 light-years and highlights key features including the Cone and Fox Fur nebulae, S Monocerotis, and magnitude 4.7 15 Monocerotis, with one report citing a span near 80 light-years for the broader region.