A Search for Young Stellar Objects in the Horsehead Nebula
Abstract
We present the preliminary results of a study to determine the state and extent of star formation in the Horsehead Nebula (B33). B33 is thought to be in a unique evolutionary phase as an emergent Bok globule still in contact with the dark cloud L1630. The nearby massive star Sigma Orionis irradiates this photodissociation region, casting B33 in silhouette against the background HII region IC434. The spatial extent and evolutionary phases of any young stars in and around B33 reflects the history and future of this globule. Deep near-infrared images of B33 in the JHKS bands with the InfraRed Survey Facility’s 1.4m telescope in Sutherland, South Africa, have revealed 18 candidate YSOs based on excesses of near-infrared emission, indicative of warm circumstellar disks, as seen on the near-infrared color-color diagram. Two more candidate young stars have been identified from two unpublished, archival HRI and PSPC ROSAT X-ray observations of the region. We will use mid-infrared photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope to confirm that these candidates are bona fide YSOs and to ascertain their evolutionary class. This project was made possible in part by the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium and the Tufts Summer Scholars Program.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AAS...209.3012B