Leaping across the Milky Way between Canis Major and Canis Minor is Monoceros, the unicorn. It is a true ghost of a figure, composed entirely of stars dimmer than fourth magnitude. You will need the darkest of nights to trace its faint outline. The illustration below is from the Atlas Celeste, by John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719).

By the nose of the unicorn resides one of the constellation's greatest treasures: the Rosette Nebula, NGC 2244. Like the Great Orion Nebula right next door, the Rosette Nebula is a birthplace of stars. It is an immense cloud of gas and dust even larger than the vast Orion Nebula, but at a distance of 2600 light years, almost twice as far away. Because of its great distance, time exposure photography is needed to see its true beauty.

Above the head of the Unicorn is an even more fantastic sight: the Cone Nebula, NGC 2264.The star cluster it adjoins is called the Christmas Tree, upside down in the sky, but right side up in an astronomical telescope. Like the Rosette Nebula, it is a vast cloud of gas and dust where stars are being born, the dark cone rising some six light years high, like some great cosmic phallus, seeding the nebula with the stuff of stars.