Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013

Poster 1H012

A WISE Survey of Star Formation in Nearby Molecular Clouds

Huard, Tracy (University of Maryland)
Bittle, Lauren (University of Maryland)
Mundy, Lee (University of Maryland)

Abstract:
During the last decade, sensitive mid-infrared observations obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope significantly increased the known population of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) associated with nearby molecular clouds. With such a census, recent studies have derived star formation rates and efficiencies in the different environments. Given the small Spitzer coverage of some of these clouds, relative to their extended regions, these YSO populations may represent a limited view of star formation in these regions. We are taking advantage of mid-infrared observations from the recent NASA Wise-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, which provides an all-sky view and therefore full coverage of the nearby clouds, to assess the degree to which their currently known YSO populations may be under-representative of the extended, more complete populations. By extending the well established classification method developed by Spitzer Legacy teams to archived WISE observations, we are assembling a more complete census of YSOs associated with these clouds. This WISE survey is discussed, and initial results are presented.

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