varying extended emission. We find that SHARC-II observations of low-mass cores are much better suited to distinguishing between starless and protostellar cores than observations at longer wavelengths. Very Low Luminosity Objects, a new class of objects being discovered by the *Spitzer Space Telescope* in cores previously classified as starless, look very similar at 350 [$\mu$m]{} to other cores with more luminous protostars.'
author:
- 'Jingwen Wu, Michael M. Dunham, Neal J. Evans II, Tyler L. Bourke, and Chadwick H. Young'
title: '**SHARC-II mapping of Spitzer c2d Small Clouds and Cores**'
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Introduction {#intro}
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Many questions remain concerning the formation of low-mass stars despite several decades of study. One of the primary reasons is that stars form in extremely dense regions of dust and gas, obscuring nearly all the light emitted in the optical portion of the spectrum. In the near- and mid-infrared the opacities of the dust grains are low enough that light can begin to escape. Thus, images at these wavelengths can reveal the central object (a protostar and possibly a circumstellar disk). The *Spitzer Space Telescope* Legacy project “From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks” (c2d; Evans et al. 2003) has carried out a survey of low-mass dense 