A new young stellar cluster embedded in a molecular cloud in the far outer Galaxy

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and characterization of a new young stellar cluster embedded in a molecular cloud in the far outer Galaxy, using multi-wavelength observations to analyze its properties and stellar content.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed study of a young stellar cluster in the far outer Galaxy, including its morphology, stellar composition, and extinction properties.

Findings

Cluster located at 7 kpc in the far outer Galaxy.

Contains low and intermediate-mass young stars.

Estimated age of the cluster is about 4 million years.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a new young stellar cluster and molecular cloud located in the far outer Galaxy, seen towards IRAS 06361-0142, and we characterise their properties. Near-infrared images were obtained with VLT/ISAAC through JHKs filters, millimetre line observations of CO(1-0) were obtained with SEST, and VLA 6 cm continuum maps obtained from archive data. The cloud and cluster are located at a distance of 7 kpc and a Galactocentric distance of 15 kpc, well in the far outer Galaxy. Morphologically, IRAS 06361-0142 appears as a cluster of several tens of stars surrounded by a nearly spherical nebular cavity centred at the position of the IRAS source. The cluster appears composed of low and intermediate-mass, young reddened stars with a large fraction having cleared the inner regions of their circumstellar discs responsible for (H - Ks) colour excess. The observations are compatible with a 4 Myr cluster with variable spatial extinction between Av = 6 and Av = 13.