Related papers: Disintegration of the Aged Open Cluster Berkeley 1…
Blue straggler stars (BSS) are well studied in globular clusters but their systematic study with secure membership determination is lacking in open clusters. We use Gaia DR2 data to determine accurate stellar membership for four…
Berkeley 59 is a nearby ($\sim$1 kpc) young cluster associated with the Sh2-171 H{\sc ii} region. We present deep optical observations of the central $\sim$2.5$\times$2.5 pc$^2$ area of the cluster, obtained with the 3.58-m Telescopio…
Aim of this study is to infer the age of the Galactic Disk by means of the ages of old open clusters, and comment on some recent claims that the Galactic Disk can be older than the Halo. To this purpose, we analyze the Color-Magnitude…
The open cluster Berkeley 90 is the home to one of the most massive binary systems in the Galaxy, LS III +46$^{\circ}$11, formed by two identical, very massive stars (O3.5 If* + O3.5 If*), and a second early-O system (LS III +46$^{\circ}$12…
We present deep CCD BVI photometry of the distant, old open cluster Berkeley 22, covering from the red giants branch (RGB) to about 6 magnitudes below the main sequence (MS) turn-off. Using the synthetic Colour - Magnitude Diagram method…
Blue straggler stars (BSS), one of the most massive members of star clusters, have been used for over a decade to investigate mass segregation and estimate the dynamical ages of globular clusters (GCs) and open clusters (OCs). This work is…
In this paper we present the first $BVI$ CCD photometry of six overlooked old open clusters (Berkeley 44, NGC 6827, Berkeley 52, Berkeley 56, Skiff 1 and Berkeley 5) and derive estimates of their fundamental parameters by using isochrones…
New photometric material is presented for 6 outer disk supposedly old, Galact ic star clusters: Berkeley 76, Haffner 4, Ruprecht 10, Haffner 7, Haffner 11, and Haffner 15, that are projected against the rich and complex Canis Major overde…
A comprehensive census of Galactic open cluster properties places unique constraints on the Galactic disc structure and evolution. In this framework we investigate the evolutionary status of three poorly-studied open clusters, Berkeley 31,…
Ruprecht 147 is a hitherto unappreciated open cluster that holds great promise as a standard in fundamental stellar astrophysics. We have conducted a radial velocity survey of astrometric candidates with Lick, Palomar, and MMT observatories…
We investigate two neighboring clusters in the Cygnus complex, Berkeley 86 and Berkeley 87, with a primary emphasis on the evaluation of extinction in the field of view towards and across the clusters. We also analyze their kinematic…
The presence of young stellar populations in the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 1783 has caught significant attention, with suggestions ranging from it being a genuine secondary stellar generation to a population of blue straggler stars…
It has been previously proposed that some distant open clusters in the Milky Way may have been accreted during a dwarf galaxy merger, perhaps associated with the same event that led to the formation of the Galactic anticenter stellar…
We present BVI CCD photometry of 10 northern open clusters, Berkeley 43, Berkeley 45, Berkeley 47, NGC 6846, Berkeley 49, Berkeley 51, Berkeley 89, Berkeley 91, Tombaugh 4 and Berkeley 9, and estimate their fundamental parameters. Eight of…
The age distribution of the open cluster system is a key piece of information to decipher the star formation history of the Milky Way disk. Recently, a remarkable earlier drop of its older end was found, which caught our attention.…
We identified blue straggler stars (BSSs) in 53 open clusters utilizing data from Gaia DR3. Most of these clusters are situated in the outer regions of the Galactic disc, encompassing structures such as the warp and the Outer arm. We…
We have obtained CCD UBVI_{KC} photometry down to V ~ 21.0 for the open clusters Berkeley 26, Czernik 27, Melotte 72, NGC 2479 and BH 37. The latter has never been studied before. Cluster stellar density profiles were obtained from star…
The most massive star clusters include several generations of stars with a different chemical composition (mainly revealed by an Na-O anti-correlation) while low-mass star clusters appear to be chemically homogeneous. We are investigating…
With an apparent cluster diameter of 1.5{\deg} and an age of ~4 Myr, Trumpler 37 is an ideal target for photometric monitoring of young stars as well as for the search of planetary transits, eclipsing binaries and other sources of…
An excellent candidate for a young elliptical, or `protoelliptical' galaxy is NGC 1700. Here we present new B, V and I band imaging using the Keck telescope and reanalyse existing V and I band images from the Hubble Space Telescope. After…