The environment and star formation of HII region Sh2-163: a
  multi-wavelength study
  To investigate the environment of HII region Sh2-163 and search for evidence
of triggered star formation in this region, we performed a multi-wavelength
study of this HII region. Most of our data were taken from large-scale surveys:
2MASS, CGPS, MSX and SCUBA. We also made CO molecular line observations, using
the 13.7-m telescope. The ionized region of Sh2-163 is detected by both the
optical and radio continuum observations. Sh2-163 is partially bordered by an
arc-like photodissociation region (PDR), which is coincident with the strongest
optical and radio emissions, indicating interactions between the HII region and
the surrounding interstellar medium. Two molecular clouds were discovered on
the border of the PDR. The morphology of these two clouds suggests they are
compressed by the expansion of Sh2-163. In cloud A, we found two molecular
clumps. And it seems star formation in clump A2 is much more active than in
clump A1. In cloud B, we found new outflow activities and massive star(s) are
forming inside. Using 2MASS photometry, we tried to search for embedded young
stellar object (YSO) candidates in this region. The very good agreement between
CO emission, infrared shell and YSOs suggest that it is probably a star
formation region triggered by the expansion of Sh2-163.We also found the most
likely massive protostar related to IRAS 23314+6033.
