StarFormMapper is a European H2020 RIA project. The key aim of the project is to combine data from two of ESA’s major space missions, Gaia and Herschel, together with ground based facilities, to constrain the mechanisms that underlie massive star and star cluster formation. Collectively, these facilities represent a considerable fraction of the total investment by Europe in astronomy. Taken separately, however, these missions give an incomplete picture but their combination will cover all stages from the formation of molecular cores, through the formation of stars, to the dispersal of the gas in young clusters. We will require new techniques in order to extract the full scientific value from this combination. We will develop new automated statistical techniques and common user tools that will provide wide benefits to the community. Our scientific results will underpin the study of how all galaxies evolve.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 687528.