The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 830 parsecs or 2,700 light-years away from Earth.
The Fox Fur Nebula is located above the cone in this image and recorded in the Sharpless Catalogue as number 273.
NGC 2259 is an open cluster also located in the constellation Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787. NGC 2259 is about 3,311 pc (10,800 light years) from the solar system and the latest estimates give an age of 316 million years. The apparent size of the cluster is 3.5 minutes arc, which, given the distance, gives a maximum full size of about 11.0 light years. NGC 2259 is the small open cluster top centre in the image.