Toward a Complete Near-IR Spectroscopic Survey of Giant Molecular Clouds

AST0204976Lada巨型分子云(GMC)是银河系恒星形成的主要场所，但由于距离大、角度大，其年轻恒星含量的性质和分布尚未得到深入或系统的研究。佛罗里达大学的伊丽莎白·拉达博士和她的同事们从国家光学天文台获得了为期5年的大约200个晚上的“调查”时间。在基特峰2.1米和4米望远镜上分配的这一极大的时间将用于研究附近GMC内年轻恒星的全部质量范围。这些研究人员正在使用世界上第一台名为火烈鸟的近红外多目标光谱仪，以获得灵敏的近红外成像调查，并首次对GMC中的恒星进行广泛的近红外光谱分类。调查观测将对最近的巨星内形成分子云的近红外源进行具有统计意义的普查，其深度和完整性是任何其他现有或计划中的调查所无法比拟的。将编制所有来源的近红外测光和光谱学的完整目录，并将其提供给整个天文学团体。该数据库将为利用地面光学和射电望远镜(如Gemini和amp；ALMA)和空间飞行任务(如SIRTF、Chandra和XMM)研究恒星形成和分子云提供独特和宝贵的资源。

AST 0204976LadaGiant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) are the dominant sites of star formation in the Galaxy, yet the nature and distribution of their young stellar content has yet to be thoroughly or systematically investigated due to the large distances to and large angular sizes of the clouds. Dr. Elizabeth Lada and her colleagues, at the University of Florida, have been awarded roughly 200 nights of "survey" time allocated over 5 years from the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. This extremely large allocation of time on the 2.1-m and 4-m telescopes at Kitt Peak will be used to study the full mass range of young stars within nearby GMCs. These researchers are using the world's first near-IR multi-object spectrometer called FLAMINGOS, to obtain sensitive near-IR imaging surveys and for the first time extensive near-IR spectral classifications for stars in GMCs. The survey observations will provide a statistically significant census of near-infrared sources within the nearest giant star forming molecular clouds to a depth and completeness unequaled by any other existing or planned survey. A complete catalog of the near-IR photometry and spectroscopy for all sources will be constructed and provided to the entire astronomical community. This database will provide a unique and valuable resource for studies of star formation and molecular clouds using both ground based optical and radio telescopes (e.g. Gemini & ALMA) and space missions (e.g. SIRTF, Chandra & XMM).***