Investigating Massive Star Formation in the Cep OB4 Association

We propose to map the OB association Cep OB4 to perform a census of the young stellar objects (YSOs) in the association and its surrounding bright-rimmed cloud. This association is one of the closest massive star-forming regions and has a favorable location and viewing geometry for study, but has never been fully mapped by Spitzer/IRAC. We will identify the Class I, II and III YSOs in the region and determine their properties, which we will use to analyze the population and test aspects of star formation models in OB associations. The data will provide a legacy for future studies of this region, including source identifications and followups with JWST.