FORCAST Imaging of Two Small Nearby Clusters: The Coronet and B 59

Abstract

Abstract We present mid-infrared imaging of two young clusters, the Coronet in the CrA cloud core and B 59 in the Pipe Nebula, using the FORCAST camera on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. We also analyze Herschel Space Observatory 4 4 Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA. PACS and SPIRE images of the associated clouds. The two clusters are at similar, and very close, distances. Star formation is ongoing in the Coronet, which hosts at least one Class 0 source and several pre-stellar cores, which may collapse and form stars. The B 59 cluster is older, although it still has a few Class I sources, and is less compact. The CrA cloud has a diameter of ∼0.16 pc, and we determine a dust temperature of 15.7 K and a star formation efficiency of ∼27%. The B 59 core is approximately twice as large, with a dust temperature of ∼11.4 K and a star formation efficiency of ∼14%. We infer that the gas densities are much higher in the Coronet, which has also formed intermediate-mass stars, while B 59 has only formed low-mass stars.