NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING OF THE STAR-FORMING REGIONS SH2-157 AND SH2-152

Near-infrared JHK' and H(2) nu = 1-0 S (1) imaging observations of the star-forming regions Sh2-157 and Sh2-152 are presented. The data reveal a cluster of young stars associated with H(2) line emission in each region. Additionally, many IR point sources are found in the dense core of each molecular cloud. Most of these sources exhibit infrared color excesses typical of T Tauri stars, Herbig Ae/Be stars, and protostars. Several display the characteristics of massive stars. We calculate histograms of the K'-magnitude and [H - K'] color for all sources, as well as two-color and color-magnitude diagrams. The stellar populations inside and outside the clusters are similar, suggesting that these systems are rather evolved. Shock-driven H(2) emission knots are also detected, which may be related to evident subclusters in an earlier evolutionary stage.