Deciphering the 3-D Orion Nebula-IV: The HH~269 flow emerges from the Orion-S Embedded Molecular Cloud

TL;DR

This study maps the 3-D structure of the HH 269 shock sequence in the Orion Nebula, revealing its origin within the Orion-S molecular cloud and suggesting episodic outflow activity from embedded sources.

Contribution

It extends the membership and 3-D mapping of HH 269, identifying its likely source within the Orion-S cloud and analyzing its episodic nature.

Findings

HH 269 lies along a highly tilted track from Orion-S

The source is likely the mm 9 core or COUP 632 star

Outflow intervals are approximately 1900-2600 years

Abstract

We have extended the membership and determined the 3-D structure of the large (0.19 pc) HH~269 sequence of shocks in the Orion Nebula. All of the components lie along a track that is highly tilted to the plane-of-the-sky and emerge from within the Orion-S embedded molecular cloud. Their source is probably either the highly obscured mm 9 source associated with a high N2H+ density core (more likely) or the more distant star COUP 632 (less likely). The former must be located in the Photon Dominated Region (PDR) underlying the ionized surface of the Orion South Cloud, while the latter would be embedded within the cloud. The flows seem to be episodic, with intervals of 1900 to 2600 years or 700 to 2600 years if COUP 632 is the source.