2004A&A...415..217B

From medium-resolution radio images, DR 16 was suspected to be a large cometary nebula. To test this suggestion we obtained a higher resolution (15'') VLA continuum map. We also analyzed data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey in continuum, HI line, and IR. These data were supplemented by published near-infrared (J, H, K) stellar photometric results and MSX 8.28µm data. We suggest that DR 16 is the diffuse HII region of an ongoing star formation site at a distance of about 3kpc. The complicated radio picture arises from the superposition of diffuse HII with the remains of a giant bipolar outflow. The outflow was generated by a probable Herbig AeBe star, and the lobes are the remnants of its working surfaces. Additional ring-like features are discussed. DR 16 is part of a larger volume of space in the local spiral arm where star formation is an ongoing process.