The project proposed here takes advantage of recent advancements of instrumentation and technology to study astrophysical processes related to the environments and the evolution of young stars. Environments hosting intense star formation can now be studied in detail in various nearby galaxies. The evolution of deeply embedded stars in formation will be studied with new diagnostic tools that previously were not available. The spectroscopic study of planetary bodies around evolved stars may now also becoming possible for the first time.
Boosted over the last several years. New instrumentation, taking advantage of diffraction limited 8–10m class telescopes in the NIR and mid infrared (MIR), dedicated IR satellites (Spitzer), as well as the upcoming far infrared (FIR) observatory SOFIA are and will be providing angular resolutions as well as sensitivities much higher compared to what has been possible during past years. At the same time, several questions related to the evolution of young stars and their environment are waiting to be answered. Some of those are:
See the OSIRIS home page for more information.
