NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0477
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0477 |
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PI: Nicole S. van der Bliek, NOAO-S, nvdbliek@ctio.noao.edu
Address: CTIO, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
CoI: Loredana Spezzi, ESA-ESTEC
CoI: Timo Prusti, ESA-ESTEC
Title: Deep optical & IR imaging of Musca
Abstract:
We propose to carry out a deep optical and NIR survey of the Musca
cloud to study its population of young stars. This star forming cloud
is part of the Chamaeleon-Musca complex, a region with a rich population
of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. The Chamaeleon-Musca complex is a
target of both the Spitzer Legacy Survey and Herschel Key Programme of
the Gould Belt clouds, and deep optical/near-IR data will complement
these space-based observations, revealing the population of young low-
mass stars and brown dwarfs. Previous studies of the Chamaeleon clouds
have demonstrated the power of wide field optical and near-IR imaging in
revealing the population of young low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. For
the Musca cloud such a basic optical/near-IR survey is still lacking
despite the fact that this close-by cloud seem to have a much richer
population of young stars than previously anticipated. Our study
provides fundamental stellar parameters allowing comparison studies to
the PMS populations in the different Chamaeleon-Musca clouds.
Ultimately the sample increases the number of stars in the Chamaeleon-
Musca complex, allowing for a statistically meaningful estimate of the
IMF in the region.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0477 |
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