NGC 2264 - Christmas Tree cluster & Cone nebula
Canon EOS5DMkII 254mm Newtonian @ 1200mm 46 x 30s f/4.8 ISO6400 2011-01-06 20:51:29-21:18:13 UT
From Rookhope 54.8
NGC2264 is in the constellation of Monoceros, the unicorn, east of Orion and just south of Gemini. It is about 2,600 light years away.
The open cluster of stars (the brighter blue ones here) allegedly form the shape of a festive tree. The photo is inverted (south at the top) to make the tree shape easier to see. The brightest star, at the base of the tree, is 15 Mon, magnitude 4.7 so visible to the naked eye from a reasonably dark site.
There are various bits of emission nebula in the scene too, all covered by the one NGC designation. The Cone nebula is faintly visible at the very top (south) of this photo.