IRAS 06562-0337, the Iron-clad Nebula: a young star embedded in a molecular cloud

R. Bachiller , M. Pérez Gutiérrez and P. Garcıa-Lario
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Apartado 1143, E-28800 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Leiden Observatory, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands, and LAEFF, Estación de Villafranca del Castillo. Apartado 50727, E-28080 Madrid, Spain
Abstract: We present millimeter and sub-millimeter observations of IRAS 06562-0337, the so-called Iron-clad Nebula. It had been suggested previously that this object could be an evolved star in the transitional phase between the AGB and a planetary nebula. However, our observations show that this IRAS source lies at the center of a dense massive molecular cloud which exhibits strong lines of CO, CO, CS, and CI. The close association of the source with this molecular cloud, the proximity to other molecular complexes, the infrared spectral energy distribution, and the main characteristics of the previously observed optical spectra, imply that IRAS06562-0337 is a young stellar object (or a small cluster) still associated to its parent molecular cloud. IRAS06562 is placed at kpc from the Sun, in the anti-center direction. Its location in the Galaxy, at about 15 kpc from the galactic center, makes the object particularly interesting for studies of galactic structure.
Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics.
e-mail: bachiller@oan.es