BEAUTY: 
BRAGGING RIGHTS: A beautiful sight
HOW EASY IS IT TO SEE? Best with a rich-field telescope
BEST TIME TO SEE IT: Winter (in Monoceros)
TYPE: Diffuse Nebula and Open Cluster
DISCOVERED: 1784 by William Herschel
Hidden treasure. This beautiful cluster is neither in the Messier nor Caldwell catalogs, leading Stephen O’Meara to dub it a “hidden treasure.” As in all overlooked objects, there is joy in discovering it; when it comes to the Christmas Tree Cluster, the sparkle of more than 30 bright stars (conveniently shaped like a Christmas tree) is quite a treat. Of course, there is one main reason it was overlooked in the first place: the surrounding nebula is quite dim—far fainter than the Rosette Nebula —diminishing its rank on our list. Still, it should still be visible with the naked eye in very dark skies. Binoculars show the stars clearly. The cluster is relatively large, bigger than the full moon, so use low magnification to see it all. To find it, look for the fifth-magnitude star 15 Monocerotis (see chart), the brightest star in NGC 2264.
