Related papers: Probing nearby Galactic structure through open sta…
A new approach to the study of the large-scale stellar cluster distribution in the Galaxy based on two-point correlation techniques is presented. The basic formalism for this method is outlined and its applications are then investigated by…
An earlier analysis of the Milky Way Star Cluster (MWSC) catalogue revealed an apparent lack of old (> 1 Gyr) open clusters in the solar neighbourhood (< 1 kpc). To fill this gap we undertook a search for hitherto unknown star clusters,…
Old open clusters are useful tools to study the Galactic disk properties, both present and past. Populous samples with properties determined both accurately and homogenously are necessary to draw reliable conclusions. We present here our…
A new optical reddening model for the Solar neighborhood is presented. The model makes use of the large-scale properties of the dust layer in the Galaxy, and of the observed clumpiness in its distribution, and it is used to compute…
We used star density maps obtained from 2MASS to obtain a sample of star clusters in the entire Galactic Plane with |b|<20deg. A total of 1788 star cluster candidates are identified in this survey. Among those are 681 previously known open…
Based on published data, we have compiled a catalogue of fundamental astrophysical parameters for 593 open clusters of the Galaxy. In particular, the catalogue provides the Galactic orbital elements for 500 clusters, the masses, central…
We quantify the structure of a very large number of Galactic open clusters and look for evidence of mass segregation for the most massive stars in the clusters. We characterise the structure and mass segregation ratios of 1276 clusters in…
Surveys of galaxy clusters provide a promising method of testing models of structure formation in the universe. Within the context of our standard structure formation scenario, surveys provide measurements of the geometry of the universe…
Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in Universe. They are very important as both cosmological probes and astrophysical laboratories. Several methods have been developed to detect galaxy clusters with different techniques (optical,…
Using the stellar photometry catalogue based on the latest data release (DR4) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), a study of the Galactic structure using star counts is carried out for selected areas of the sky. The sample areas are…
The sample of known star clusters, the fundamental building blocks of galaxies, in the Milky Way is still extremely incomplete for objects beyond a distance of 1-2kpc. Many of the more distant and young clusters are compact and hidden…
Open clusters, which have age, abundance, and extinction information from studies of main-sequence turn off stars, are the ideal location in which to determine the mass-luminosity-radius relation for low-mass stars. We have undertaken a…
The long term goal of large-scale chemical tagging is to use stellar elemental abundances as a tracer of dispersed substructures of the Galactic disk. The identification of such lost stellar aggregates and the exploration of their chemical…
The outer regions of galaxies are expected to contain important clues about the way in which galaxies are assembled. Although quantitative study of these parts has been severely limited in the past, breakthroughs are now being made thanks…
The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey has now been completed and has mapped the three-dimensional distribution, and hence clustering, of galaxies in exquisite detail over an unprecedentedly large ($\sim 10^{8} h^{-3}$ Mpc$^{3}$) volume of the…
The main aim of this paper is to study the astrophysical behavior of open clusters' properties along the Milky Way Galaxy. Near-IR JHK (2MASS) photometry has been used for getting a homogeneous Catalog of 263 open clusters' parameters,…
Almost 80 years have passed since Trumpler's analysis of the Galactic open cluster system laid one of the main foundations for understanding the nature and structure of the Milky Way. Since then, the open cluster system has been recognised…
We present a list of 130 Galactic Open Clusters, found in the All-Sky Compiled Catalogue of 2.5 Million Stars (ASCC-2.5). For these clusters we determined and publish a homogeneous set of astrophysical parameters such as size, membership,…
The last 20 years have seen an explosion in our understanding of the large-scale distribution and motions of galaxies in the nearby universe. The field has moved from a largely qualitative, morphological description of the structures seen…
Research done during the previous century established our Standard Cosmological Model. There are many details still to be filled in, but few would seriously doubt the basic premise. Past surveys have revealed that the large-scale…