We have carried out deep (V∼21 mag) \ubvri photometric study of the star
cluster Stock 18. These along with archival Infrared data have been used to
derive the basic cluster parameters and also to study the star formation
processes in and around the cluster region. The distance to the cluster is
derived as 2.8±0.2 kpc while its age is estimated as 6.0±2.0 Myr.
Present study indicates that interstellar reddening is normal in the direction
of the cluster. The mass function slope is found to be -1.37±0.27 for the
mass range 1<M/M⊙​<11.9. There is no evidence found for the effect of
mass segregation in main-sequence stars of the cluster. A young stellar
population with age between 1-2 Myr have been found in and around the cluster
region. The presence of IRAS and AKARI sources with MSX intensity map also show
the youth of the Sh2-170 region.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables (Accepted for publication in New
Astronomy