NGC 7129 is a bright reflection nebula located in the molecular cloud complex near l = 105 \fdg 4 , b = +9 \fdg 9 , about 1.15 kpc distant .
Embedded within the reflection nebula is a young cluster dominated by a compact grouping of four early-type stars : BD+65 ^ { \circ } 1638 ( B3V ) , BD+65 ^ { \circ } 1637 ( B3e ) , SVS 13 ( B5e ) , and LkH \alpha 234 ( B8e ) .
About 80 H \alpha emission sources brighter than V \sim 23 are identified in the region , many of which are presumably T Tauri star members of the cluster .
We also present deep ( V \sim 23 ) , optical ( VR _ { C } I _ { C } ) photometry of a field centered on the reflection nebula and spectral types for more than 130 sources determined from low dispersion , optical spectroscopy .
The narrow pre-main sequence evident in the color-magnitude diagram suggests that star formation was rapid and coeval .
A median age of about 1.8 Myr is inferred for the H \alpha and literature-identified X-ray emission sources having established spectral types , using pre-main sequence evolutionary models .
Our interpretation of the structure of the molecular cloud and the distribution of young stellar objects is that BD+65 ^ { \circ } 1638 is primarily responsible for evacuating the blister-like cavity within the molecular cloud .
LkH \alpha 234 and several embedded sources evident in near infrared adaptive optics imaging have formed recently within the ridge of compressed molecular gas .
The compact cluster of low-mass stars formed concurrently with the early-type members , concentrated within a central radius of \sim 0.7 pc .
Star formation is simultaneously occurring in a semi-circular arc some \sim 3 pc in radius that outlines remaining dense regions of molecular gas .
High dispersion , optical spectra are presented for BD+65 ^ { \circ } 1638 , BD+65 ^ { \circ } 1637 , SVS 13 , LkH \alpha 234 , and V350 Cep .
These spectra are discussed in the context of the circumstellar environments inferred for these stars .