1998A&A...331L..45B

We present millimeter and sub-millimeter observations of IRAS 06562-0337, the so-called Iron-clad Nebula. It had been suggested previously that this object could be an evolved star in the transitional phase between the AGB and a planetary nebula. However, our observations show that this IRAS source lies at the center of a dense massive molecular cloud which exhibits strong lines of CO, 3CO, CS, and C I. The close association of the source with this molecular cloud, the proximity to other molecular complexes, the infrared spectral energy distribution, and the main characteristics of the previously observed optical spectra, imply that IRAS 06562-0337 is a young stellar object (or a small cluster) still associated to its parent molecular cloud. IRAS 06562 is placed at 7±3kpc from the Sun, in the anticenter direction. Its location in the Galaxy, at about 15kpc from the galactic center, makes the object particularly interesting for studies of galactic structure.