IRAS 12496 - 7650: An Ae star with outflow?

The nature of the optically invisible young stellar object, IRAS 12496 – 7650 in the Chamaeleon T2 association, is investigated using far- and near-infrared photometry. We find its bolometric luminosity to be $$\sim 50 \enspace L_\odot$$. Its near-infrared magnitudes are strongly variable and have very red colors, indicating that it is deeply embedded in dust. 60- and 100-μm IRAS images show extended emission connecting the embedded star with the HH 52–54 group of Herbig–Haro objects which lie about 14 arcmin north-east of the IRAS source. Similar extended emission is found to the south-west, consistent with the presence of outflowing material that heats the local dust in some way. We suggest that 12496 – 7650 is a deeply dust-embedded Ae star with an outflow which is similar in extent to that from L1551 IRS5.