The Fox Fur Nebula located near the bright star in the center of the image is an area of dense interstellar dust and gas. The area is illuminated by the young bright stars that are being formed within the nebula’s thick clouds. On the left side of the image is the cone nebula - a giant pillar of dust and gas discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785. The Christmastime discovery may have inspired Herschel to name the triangular star formation in the center of the image the Christmas Tree Cluster. The area spans about 1.5 degrees of sky or about the width of 3 full moons. It covers a distance of nearly 70 light years from one end to the other and the region is over 2700 light years away. The image is composed of 367 five minute exposures for a total integration of about 31 hours.