Observations of the molecular hydrogen emission from the Orion Nebula

Abstract

Observations of the molecular hydrogen emission at 2 m in Orion are presented. The data consist of maps at both 13 and 5" resolution in the V = 1 0 S(1) emission line; intensity measurements of the V = 1 0 5(0), 5(1), 5(2), and Q(3) transitions and of the V = 2 1 5(1) transition are used to derive a vibrational temperature of 2000 + 300 K and the associated column densities at the two peaks. The data presented here improve upon previous data of the Orion H2 emission and support the suggestion that the hydrogen is excited in a thin sheet. Subject headings: infrared: sources - interstellar: molecules - nebulae: Orion Nebula