Open AccessA Herbig–Haro object associated with GGD30 and its exciting source
Author(s) -
Smith R. G.,
Lawson W. A.,
Wright C. M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11292.x
Subject(s) - physics , herbig–haro object , astrophysics , outflow , astronomy , luminosity , spectroscopy , herbig ae/be star , line of sight , reflection nebula , star formation , stars , t tauri star , planetary nebula , k type main sequence star , galaxy , meteorology
GGD30 has been suggested to be either a small reflection nebulosity or a Herbig–Haro (HH) object formed in the outflow from a nearby obscured star. Observations to date have not been able to distinguish between these two scenarios. In addition, there are conflicting proposals for the location of the exciting source for GGD30. To resolve these questions, we have carried out optical spectroscopy and near‐infrared ( J , K and 3.6‐μm) imaging of GGD30. Taken together, these observations reveal that the bright optical knot in GGD30 must be a HH object, excited by the outflow from an optically obscured pre‐main‐sequence (PMS) star located ∼3 arcsec to the southwest. Based on mid‐infrared fluxes from the Mid‐course Space Experiment ( MSX ) satellite, we estimate the luminosity of this PMS star to be ∼12.5 L ⊙ which suggests it is an intermediate‐mass object rather than low‐mass as previously proposed. The optical spectroscopy indicates projected velocities of ∼−270 km s −1 associated with the HH object. The fact that these velocities are blueshifted and relatively high compared to the velocities typical of HH flows suggests that the outflow from the PMS star must be almost aligned with the line of sight. There is an additional low‐velocity (∼−70 km s −1 ) Hα component but its origin is not clear.