ABSTRACT. In Spitzer/IRAC images obtained under the GLIMPSE Legacy Survey, we have identified a unique and provocative nebular object we call the "Southern Jellyfish Nebula." The Southern Jellyfish Nebula is characterized by a fan of narrow tendrils with extreme length-to-width ratios that emanate from the vicinity of a bright infrared point source embedded in a smaller resolved nebula. From CO observations of the Nebula's morphologically associated molecular cloud, we have derived a kinematic distance of 5.7 ± 0.8 kpc and a cloud mass of 3.2 ± 0.9 × 10³ M. The tendril-like ropes of the Nebula have widths of ~0.1 pc and lengths of up to ~2 pc. We have integrated the infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) of the point source to establish it as a massive young stellar object (MYSO), most likely forming alone, but possibly masking fainter cluster members. The shape of the SED is consistent with the shape of a late Class 0 SED model. Based on its far-IR luminosity of 3.3 ± 0.9 × 10⁴ L, the Southern Jellyfish's MYSO has a zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) spectral type of B0. Given the curious nature of this nebula, we suspect its peculiar IR-bright structure is directly related to its current state of star formation.

Subject headings: Galaxy: general; H II regions; infrared: ISM; infrared: stars; stars: distances; stars: formation

Print publication: Issue 1 (2007 February 10)
Received 2006 July 14, accepted for publication 2006 October 18