NGC 1333: A Nearby Burst of Star Formation

NGC 1333 is the currently most active region of star formation in the Perseus molecular cloud. The presence of emission-line stars and Herbig-Haro objects first established NGC 1333 as an active region of star formation. Today, NGC 1333 is one of the best studied extremely young clusters of low to intermediate mass stars. This region is rich in sub-mm cores, embedded YSOs, radio continuum sources, masers, IRAS sources, SiO molecular jets, H2 and HH shocks, molecular outflows, and the lobes of extinct outflows. Dozens of outflows from embedded and young cluster members criss-cross this region. While the complexity and confusion of sources and outflows has made it difficult to unravel the relations between various components, NGC 1333 has illuminated the roles of feedback and clustering phenomena in star formation. 1. Overview of NGC 1333 First discovered by Eduard Schönfeld in 1855, NGC 1333 (Figs. 1 & 2) is a bright reflection nebula in the western portion of the Perseus molecular cloud. The earliest references to NGC 1333 in research literature are by Edwin Hubble who included NGC 1333 in a catalog of nebulae used to examine the distribution (Hubble 1922a) and stellar content (Hubble 1922b) of Galactic nebulae. The star BD +30549 illuminates NGC 1333 and was found to be a B8 spectral type (van den Bergh 1966; Racine 1968).