The "Papillon" nebula: a compact HII blob in the LMC resolved by HST

We present high spatial resolution HST imaging of the LMC compact H II regi on N159-5. This high excitation blob is revealed to be a "papillon" or butt erfly-shaped ionized nebula with the "wings" separated by similar to 2 ".3 (0.6 pc). Two subarcsecond features resembling a "smoke ring" and a "globul e" are detected in the wings, the origin of which is briefly discussed. N15 9-5 may represent a new type of H II region in the Magellanic Clouds overlo oked so far because of insufficient spatial resolution. Our images also sho w a strikingly turbulent medium around the Papillon in the giant HII region N 159, which manifests itself by a large number of subarcsecond filaments, arcs, ridges, and fronts carved in the ionized gas by the stellar winds fr om massive stars in the N 159 complex.