Discovered about 2,500 light-years from Earth, the Christmas Tree Cluster is a cluster of young stars, most of which are between 1 and 5 million years old (for comparison, our Sun has been burning for more than 5 billion years).

These stars emit X-rays collected by our orbiting NASA Chandra XRay observatory and are depicted here in various shades of blue and white. They are surrounded by a gas nebula observed by other telescopes and shown here in green, giving this cluster (officially known as NGC 2264) its memorable nickname.

Image description:

A green gas triangle resembling a Christmas tree is filled with blue and white stars that look like Christmas decorations. Other stars and astronomical phenomena fill the background of the image.