An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A Galactic H II region with an electron density ≥ 10³ cm^-3 and of a linear dimension ≤ 1 pc.

→ compact; → H II region.

A very young → H II region fully embedded in its natal molecular cloud. Ultracompact H II regions are distinguished from classical H II regions by their small sizes (diameter ≥ 0.1 pc), high densities (Ne ≥ 10⁵ cm^-3), and high emission measures (EM ≥ 10⁷ pc cm^-6). Their typical ionized gas content is about 10^-2  → solar masses, in contrast to classical H II regions with a mass of about 10⁵ solar masses. Due to very important extinction, ultracompact H II regions are not accessible to visible wavelengths.

→ ultra-; → compact; → H II region.