086198

The filamentary dark cloud in Norma is undergoing active star-formation as revealed by a diverse population of protostars comma T Tauri stars comma Herbig-Haro objects openParHH 56-57closePar comma and the peculiar young star V346 Nor. We propose to obtain the first pointed X-ray observation of the Norma cloud. The deep EPIC exposure in combination with archival IR data will allow us to identify comma classify comma and map the spatial distribution of X-ray emitting young stellar objects openParYSOsclosePar in the cloud for the first time. We will characterize the X-ray emission of the eruptive star V346 Nor comma which shows similarities to FU Orionis stars. EPIC will provide a sensitive search for soft X-ray emission from shocked plasma in HH 56-57 comma as detected in other HH jets.