Abstract
Multifrequency observations have been obtained for the cometary nebula P18 (NGC 2316). The set of data consists of CCD frames in the I and R bands; J,H,K and Larcmin near-infrared photometry and maps in the H and K bands, and radio continuum observations at λ 6-cm. These have been combined with previously published photometry at 10 and 22 μm, IRAS and Kuiper data. The results indicate that P18 is a compact H II region located at a distance of ≡1 kpc and is being excited by an embedded single early B-type star. Two condensations located near the apex of the nebula, apparent in the optical-red and near-infrared maps and previously misidentified as "stars", are related to light from the H II region shining through the disrupted circumstellar dust shell.
