Pictures of the Cone Nebula

The Cone Nebula, or NGC 2264, is a dark nebula located 2,500 lightyears away in the Monoceros constellation.

The nebula is 7 lightyears long and is packed full of dense gas and dust - the ingredients necessary for star formation - making it a perfect stellar factory.

This tempestuous deep-sky region contains scorching hot young stars that are eroding and carving out the dark nebula, also emitting blasts of powerful ultraviolet light that can be seen illuminating the edges of the dense cosmic cloud.

The NGC 2264 region also contains an open star cluster known as the Christmas Tree Cluster, as it forms a sparkling triangular shape that makes it look rather like a festive fir.

The Cone Nebula itself is reminiscent of the Pillars of Creation, part of M16, The Eagle Nebula, famously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.

It too is a dense region of gas and dust and a prolific star-forming region.

Below is a selection of images of the Cone Nebula captured by BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers and astrophotographers from around the world.

For more information about photographing nebulae, read our guide to deep-sky astrophotography or find out how to fine-tune your images with our guide to image processing.

And don't forget to send us your images or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.