Star Formation: Answering Fundamental Questions During the Spitzer Warm Mission Phase

Abstract

Through existing studies of star‐forming regions, Spitzer has created rich databases which have already profoundly influenced our ability to understand the star and planet formation process on micro and macro scales. However, it is essential to note that Spitzer observations to date have focused largely on deep observations of regions of recent star formation associated directly with well‐known molecular clouds located within 500 pc. What has not been done is to explore to sufficient depth or breadth a representative sample of the much larger regions surrounding the more massive of these molecular clouds. Also, while there have been targeted studies of specific distant star forming regions, in general, there has been little attention devoted to mapping and characterizing the stellar populations and star‐forming histories of the surrounding giant molecular clouds (GMCs). As a result, we have yet to develop an understanding of the major physical processes that control star formation on the scale or spiral a...