Star formation in the Rosette molecular cloud under the influence of NGC 2244

Abstract

The Rosette molecular cloud has a characteristic morphology, where the central OB cluster NGC 2244 has blown a circular-shaped cavity into the cloud and the expanding HII-region now interacts with the cloud. We use continuum data obtained with the PACS (70 and 160 μ m) and SPIRE instruments (250, 350, 500 μ m) of the Herschel telescope to investigate the spatial distribution of cold and warm gas and to locate all star-forming sites in Rosette. We detected a clear negative temperature gradient and a positive density gradient (running from the HII-region/molecular cloud interface into the cloud), and an age-sequence (from more evolved to younger) with increasing distance to the cluster NGC 2244. The existence of such temperature and density gradients and the observed age-sequence imply that star formation in Rosette may indeed be influenced by the radiative impact of the central NGC 2244 cluster.