The North American and Pelican Nebulae. II. MIPS Observations and Analysis

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal. Supplement series Vol. 193; no. 2; pp. 25 - jQuery1323920156083='48'
• Main Authors: Rebull, L. M, Guieu, S, Stauffer, J. R, Hillenbrand, L. A, Noriega-Crespo, A, Stapelfeldt, K. R, Carey, S. J, Carpenter, J. M, Cole, D. M, Padgett, D. L, Strom, S. E, Wolff, S. C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IOP Publishing 01.04.2011
• Subjects: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CAMERAS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; INFRARED RADIATION; MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; NEBULAE; PHOTOMETERS; POINT SOURCES; RADIATION SOURCES; RADIATIONS; STARS; TELESCOPES; ASW, Mexico Gulf
• ISSN: 0067-0049; 1538-4365
• DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/193/2/25

We present observations of ~7 deg2 of the North American and Pelican Nebulae region at 24, 70, and 160 Delta *mm with the Spitzer Space Telescope Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). We incorporate the MIPS observations with earlier Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations, as well as archival near-infrared (IR) and optical data. We use the MIPS data to identify 1286 young stellar object (YSO) candidates. IRAC data alone can identify 806 more YSO candidates, for a total of 2076 YSO candidates. Prior to the Spitzer observations, there were only ~200 YSOs known in this region. Three subregions within the complex are highlighted as clusters: the Gulf of Mexico, the Pelican, and the Pelican's Hat. The Gulf of Mexico cluster is subject to the highest extinction (AV at least ~30) and has the widest range of infrared colors of the three clusters, including the largest excesses and by far the most point-source detections at 70 Delta *mm. Just 3% of the cluster members were previously identified; we have redefined this cluster as about 10-100 times larger (in projected area) than was previously realized.