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K. DeGioia-Eastwood, J. Greene (Northern Arizona University)
Very young, luminous stars spend a significant percentage of their lives buried in their natal molecular clouds, rendering them undetectable in the optical. We have taken the first infrared spectra of the infrared source IRS2 in the HII region Sharpless 269 in order to attempt classification of the ionizing sources. The visible exciting star in the region does not provide sufficient ionizing flux to account for the entire region. The only likely candidate for additional ionizing flux is the source IRS2. IRS2 is believed to be the site of a young stellar object and the center of continuing star formation in the region. Evidence includes a high infrared excess, high velocity dispersions and electron densities, the detection of OH and H2O masers, and a Herbig-Haro object in the vicinity of IRS2w. We present the first detection of molecular hydrogen emission in the region, another indicator of vigorous activity. Limits are placed on the effective temperature of the buried ionizing source, based on the the infrared spectral atlas of Hanson and Conti (1996).