A search for young stellar objects in MBM 12

Abstract

This work addresses the current state of star formation within the high-latitude molecular cloud MBM 12. We use new Spitzer Space Telescope observations at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, 24, and 70 µm to find new candidate young stellar objects (YSOs). The candidates are identified by means of visual inspection of the image data, color Ð magnitude and color Ð color diagrams, and the shape of their spectral energy distributions. Comparisons to the known YSOs residing in this region are used to examine the cloudÕs star formation history. With these techniques, we create a list of possible YSO candidates for further investigation.