First results from the FLAMINGOS survey of GMCs: The Monoceros Cloud
Andrea Stolte (Department of Astronomy
University of Florida)
Elizabeth A. Lada (Department of Astronomy, UFL)
Joanna Levine (Department of Astronomy, UFL)
The University of Florida FLAMINGOS survey covers five giant molecular clouds
and several intense star-forming regions with deep,
wide-field JHK imaging. Multi-object spectroscopy
of subsamples of the stellar populations forms the basis
for age dating and spectral classification, with the goal
to obtain the low-mass IMF. The spatial distribution of
low-mass stars and brown dwarfs is studied with respect
to the star formation environment, and the existence
of circumstellar disks is deduced from NIR excesses.
Here, we will show the first results from the
FLAMINGOS survey for the distribution of low-mass
stars in the Monoceros giant molecular cloud and
its central cluster NGC 2264.