| Abstract: | While Spitzer enabled the efficent discovery of thousands of young stellar objects (YSOs) within 1 kpc of the Sun, it focused on known molecular clouds. With WISE, color criteria similar to those used in Spitzer studies can identify YSOs in largely unexplored regions. Newly identified YSOs may refine the initial stellar mass function, allow a better characterization of star and planet formation in regions with low initial gas densities, and identify nearby targets for high-resolution follow-up imaging. As a precursor to more expansive YSO searches, we present results for a 100 square degree region centered on the relatively unexplored Canis Major clouds. Our preliminary catalog contains 193 Class I objects (young stars with envelopes) and 230 Class II objects (young stars with disks). Assuming a distance of 1000 pc, the median separations are 0.6 pc for Class I sources and 1.5 pc for Class II sources. About 30% of the sources are found outside of known 13CO clouds, pointing to the existence of an important dispersed population of YSOs. |