A stellar Christmas: NASA reveals cosmic tree lighting up the Milky Way

WASHINGTON (TND) — The holiday spirit reaches so far and wide that even a cluster of stars in space is celebrating.

NASA shared a photo Tuesday of a "Christmas Tree Cluster" that "shows the shape of a cosmic tree with the glow of stellar lights."

Also called NGC 2264, the cluster of young stars is estimated to be between about one and five million years old. It is located in the Milky Way which is about 2,500 light-years away from Earth.

"This new composite image enhances the resemblance to a Christmas tree through choices of color and rotation," a news release said. "The blue and white lights are young stars that give off X-rays detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory."

NASA said the cluster includes stars that are both smaller and larger than the Sun.