K. Smith, M. Robberto (STScI), C. R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), L.A. Hillenbrand (Caltech), M. Simon (SUNY Stony Brook), P. McCullough, J. Krist (STScI), F. Palla (Osservatorio Astrofisica di Arcetri), M. Romaniello (ESO), J. Najita (NOAO), E.D. Feigelson (Penn State), R. Makidon (STScI), J. Stauffer (JPL), N. Panagia, N. Reid, W. Sherry, D.R. Soderblom (STScI), K.G. Stassun (Vanderbilt University), Orion Treasury Team
The HST survey of the Orion nebula cluster will provide the most complete census of this critically important star forming region to date. Scientific issues addressed will include the calibration of pre-main-sequence evolutionary tracks, mass segregation and the initial mass function as a function of different environments, evolution of mass accretion rates with age and disk dissipation in environments dominated by hard versus soft UV radiation. It is envisaged that this Treasury program will provide the definitive data set for the Orion nebula region for the next several years. Ground-based observations in the NIR and optical passbands complement the HST survey by providing near simultaneous photometry from U to K band of the 30'x30' survey region. These observations are primarily designed to counter the effects of stellar rotation on bright stars, which can lead to substantial variability on timescales of ~12 hours in some cases. We present the initial findings of the ground-based NIR program, recently conducted at CTIO.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.