Star formation in BOK globules and low-mass clouds. III. Barnard 62.

Barnard 62 is a large, very opaque Bok globule surrounded by bright rims. Optical and near-infrared observations have revealed four low-luminosity pre-main sequence stars, of which one is a visual binary, in association with the globule. In addition, an embedded low-luminosity source has been detected by IRAS. The star BD -20°4896 is surrounded by a reflection nebula and is probably a field star accidentally passing through the globule. It has spectral type A7 or A8, and if it is of luminosity class V, the distance to the globule is about 225 pc. The neighbouring globule Barnard 61 shows no signs of star formation activity.