The Cygnus X region. XIV. The radio continuum of the North America-Pelican nebulae.

New high resolution radio continuum observations at 2695 MHz are presented for the North America-Pelican nebulae-complex. It is attempted to separate it from fore- and background radiation. A new estimate of the distance of 500 pc has been made. A model of the density distribution of the ionized gas is derived. It consists of three ingredients: a group of 8 early type stars ionizing so-called cavities in the parent molecular cloud, a half-sphere of about 5 pc where the flow out of the cavities dominates, and a roughly 10 pc wide surrounding region, which may be density bounded. The picture is consistent with kinematic data for the molecular cloud which is being photo-dissociated by the stars.