Aims . Herbig-Haro flows are signposts of recent major accretion and outflow episodes .
We aim to determine the nature and properties of the little-known outflow source HH 250-IRS , which is embedded in the Aquila clouds . Methods . We have obtained adaptive optics-assisted L -band images with the NACO instrument on the Very Large Telescope ( VLT ) , together with N - and Q - band imaging with VISIR also on the VLT .
Using the SINFONI instrument on the VLT we carried out H - and K - band integral field spectroscopy of HH 250-IRS , complemented with spectra obtained with the SpeX instrument at the InfraRed Telescope Facility ( IRTF ) in the JHKL bands .
Finally , the SubMillimeter Array ( SMA ) interferometer was used to study the circumstellar environment of HH 250-IRS at 225 and 351 GHz with CO ( 2-1 ) and CO ( 3-2 ) maps and 0.9 mm and 1.3 mm continuum images . Results . The HH 250-IRS source is resolved into a binary with 0 \aas@@fstack { \prime \prime } 53 separation , corresponding to 120 AU at the adopted distance of 225 pc .
The individual components show heavily veiled spectra with weak CO absorption indicative of late-type stars .
Both are Class I sources , but their spectral energy distributions between 1.5 \mu m and 19 \mu m differ markedly and suggest the existence of a large cavity around one of the components .
The millimeter interferometric observations indicate that the gas mainly traces a circumbinary envelope or disk , while the dust emission is dominated by one of the circumstellar envelopes . Conclusions . HH 250 IRS is a new addition to the handful of multiple systems where the individual stellar components , the circumstellar disks and a circumbinary disk can be studied in detail , and a rare case among those systems in which a Herbig-Haro flow is present .