2001A&A...379...82B

Fuse and IUE observations of Sk-69246, a WN6 star to the north of 30 Dor, reveal the existence of LMC interstellar gas in at least 3 velocity components. In one of these components Fuse spectra show strong absorption by molecular hydrogen with a column density of logN(H₂)=19.6. We investigate the physical conditions in this cloud, which is probably located near the HII region surrounding Sk-69246. HD and CO with column densities of ≃13.9 and 13.0, respectively, are detected. The N(CO)-to-N(H₂) ratio is consistent with values found in the Galaxy. From the population of the rotational levels of H₂ we derive a gas temperature of 72 K and a radiation field U≃3x10^–15erg/s/cm³ at 1000Å. The fractional abundance f=2N(H₂)/[N(HI)+2N(H₂)]≃0.07 is rather high for an E(B-V)≲0.1.