Star Formation in the Molecular Cloud Associated with the Monkey Head Nebula: Sequential or Spontaneous?

We mapped the NH₃ (1,1), (2,2), and (3,3) lines of the molecular cloud associated with the Monkey Head Nebula (MHN) with 1'.6 angular resolution using Kashima 34 m telescope. Its kinetic temperature distribution was contrary to what is expected for a molecular cloud at the edge of an expanding H II region and suggested that the massive star associated with S252A compact HII region formed spontaneously rather than through a sequential process.