| Abstract : | Massive dark-clouds with stellar masses of ∼ 10^5 Msun are potential sites of young to intermediate-mass cluster formation. Given the fact that massive young clusters (> 2000 Msun ) are rare in our Galaxy, studying initial conditions of massive Galactic clouds offers an opportunity to understand the environmental conditions that can breed young massive clusters. In this work, we report the physical conditions, gas kinematics, and stellar contents of the dark cloud G148.02+00.18 with UKDISS, Spitzer, Herschel, and PMO observational data sets. From our analyses, we show that the cloud is massive (∼ 7 x 10^4 Msun ), cold (∼ 20 K), and nearly bound; thus has the potential to form a massive cluster even if we assume a star formation efficiency as low as ∼ 5%. We find that the cloud has fragmented and formed three small clusters along its spine. We discuss various processes of cluster formation in molecular clouds and the possibility of a simultaneous act of hierarchical fragmentation and global collapse in making a massive cluster in G148.02+00.18.
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