We present initial results from a survey of the Orion A and B molecular clouds made with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. This survey encompasses a total of 5.6 square degrees with the sensitivity to detect objects below the hydrogen burning limit at an age of 1 Myr. These observations cover a number of known star forming regions, from the massive star forming clusters in the Orion Nebula and NGC 2024, to small groups of low mass stars in the L1641. We combine the IRAC photometry with photometry from the 2MASS point source catalog and use the resulting seven band data to identify stars with infrared excesses due to dusty disks and envelopes. Using the presence of an infrared excess as an indicator of youth, we show the distribution of young stars and protostars in the two molecular clouds. We find that roughly half of the stars are found in dense clusters surrounding the two regions of recent massive star formation in the Orion clouds, NGC 2024 and the Orion Nebula.

I discuss in this contribution the accretion and ejection processes occurring in solar-type young stars. Understanding these two important processes, and their link, is one of the major issues in star formation. The magnetic field is thought to play a central role in both extracting the angular momentum from the disk and directing the accretion flow onto the star. I will focus on the well studied T Tauri stars, optically-revealed pre-main sequence stars with ages 1-10 Myrs and mass $\simeq$ 0.5 M$_{\odot}$. In the first part of this contribution, I present the current paradigm for magnetically channeled accretion, where the stellar magnetic field truncates the disk and directs the accretion flow and discuss recent observations, which indicate that this process is non-axisymmetric and time-dependent. I then turn to the study of the supersonic collimated jets observed in young stars. Magneto-hydrodynamic processes are the most likely driving mechanism. I present the main steady and non-steady outflow models, as well as constraints brought by recent high-resolution studies. I finally discuss the origin of time variability in jets.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html