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Description
Near-IR imaging in the direction of the IRAS 15408-5356 point source, which is associated with the RCW 95 HII region, revealed a young and massive stellar cluster. We detected 136 member candidates up to our completeness limit, embedded in an infrared nebula and concentrated in an area of about 3pc^2^. About 60% of the candidates detected in all three of the J, H, and K bands present infrared excess at 2.2{mu}m. he UV photons provided by the most massive stars are enough to explain the observed free-free emission at radio wavelengths and the integrated infrared luminosity produced by the heated dust. The near-IR counterpart of the IRAS point source was identified using a more accurate position from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) catalog; it coincides with the peak of emission in the MSX mid-IR bands. The measured integrated flux density of the infrared nebula at the K band is compatible with the expected free-free emission derived from the radio data, but an excess at the J and H bands was detected and may be due to either nonhomogeneous absorption across the nebula or to the presence of scattered stellar light, more prominent at smaller wavelengths.
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