Berkeley 17: The Oldest Open Cluster?

Details Berkeley 17: The Oldest Open Cluster? Berkeley 17: The Oldest Open Cluster?

Jul 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997apj...483..826p&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal v.483, p.826

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

38

Stars: Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Galaxy: Open Clusters And Associations: Individual Name: Berkeley 17, Stars: Abundances, Stars: Evolution

Scientific paper

Faint magnitude BVI CCD photometry of the central region of the old open cluster Berkeley 17 (Be 17) has been undertaken to investigate the claim that it is the oldest open cluster yet discovered (Phelps, Janes, & Montgomery). This study reveals Be 17 to have a metallicity -0.30 <= [Fe/H] <= 0.00; a reddening 0.52 <= E(B-V) <= 0.68 or 0.61 <= E(V-I) <= 0.71; a distance modulus, (m - M)0 = 12.15 +/- 0.10, corresponding to a distance of 2.7 +/- 0.1 kpc; a diameter of ~10 pc; a minimum mass of 400 M&sun; and an age of 10--13 Gyr. With an adopted age of 12^{+1}_{-2} Gyr, these results suggest that Be 17 is indeed the oldest open cluster yet discovered. The inferred old age for Be 17 indicates that the cluster is an important one for studies of the differences between open and globular clusters, the transition from the halo/thick disk to the thin disk of the Galaxy, and even for establishing the minimum age of the universe.

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