OPTICAL EVIDENCE FOR A POORLY-COLLIMATED WIND FROM CEPHEUS-A

The relationship between optical outflows, as represented by Herbig-Ha ro (HH) objects and HH-like jets, and their associated molecular outfl ows is not well known. While molecular outflows are in many instances poorly collimated, this may not be true of HH outflows and it is certa inly not the case with jets. Here we examine, through direct imaging a nd spectroscopy, the optical flow in the region east of Cepheus A, a w ell known molecular outflow source. Our images reveal several previous ly unseen HH objects in this region linked together by a virtual ellip se of HH emission. The major axis of this ''ellipse'' points directly at what is thought to be the driving source of activity in this area a nd it is argued that the optical, shocked molecular hydrogen, and radi o emission all derive from a poorly collimated wind from Cep A. As wit h the optical outflow to the west of Cep A, the bow shaped emission, s een in the case of the two brightest HH objects, suggests a clumpy win d at least near the interface between the wind and the ambient materia l. The idea that there is more than one major outflow direction in the Cep A region is examined. We find that the evidence presented here an d at various other wavelengths supports a simple east-west orientation .