Star Formation in the Extended Solar Neighborhood: The View from the
Spitzer Space Telescope
Thomas Mageath
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Abstract
Since its launch in August 2003, the Spitzer Space Telescope has been
providing a whole new view
of star formation in our galaxy. I will present new results from a
comparative study of star forming regions
with the Spitzer and an array of ground based telescopes. These
observations vividly show the range of
environments in which stars form, from small groups of young stars to
rich clusters of densely packed stars
and protostars. I will overview our program to better characterize
these environments, with the goals
of understanding the initial conditions at the onset of star formation
in groups and clusters,
the evolution of these systems, and the influence the clustered
environment has on the formation of planets.