Spitzer and NEWFIRM observations of NGC 6334

We obtained observations at J, H, and K_s_ taken with the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager and combined them with observations taken with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope at wavelengths = 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0{mu}m. We also analyzed previous observations taken at 24{mu}m using the Spitzer MIPS camera as part of the MIPSGAL survey.

We have produced a point source catalog with >700000 entries. We have identified 2283 young stellar object (YSO) candidates, 375 Class I YSOs, and 1908 Class II YSOs using a combination of existing IRAC-based color classification schemes that we have extended and validated to the near-IR for use with warm Spitzer data. We have identified multiple new sites of ongoing star formation activity along filamentary structures extending tens of parsecs beyond the central molecular ridge of NGC 6334.