Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Apr 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996aj....111.1604p&link_type=abstract
Astronomical Journal v.111, p.1604
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
12
Open Clusters And Associations: Individual: Berkeley 66, Galaxy: Formation
Scientific paper
We have performed V and I CCD observations of the previously unstudied open cluster Berkeley 66 (Be 66) with the Kitt Peak National Observatory 2.1 m telescope. We find Be 66 to be an old cluster, with an age of 3-4 Gyr, based on isochrone fits to the color-magnitude diagram and from the "morphological age index" (MAI) of lanes & Phelps [AJ, 108, 1773 (1994)]. At a Galactocentric distance of 12.9 kpc, Be 66 is among the distant old open clusters and is therefore useful for studies of the Galactocentric radial abundance gradient. Using our adopted distance of 5.2 kpc for Be 66, we find that the cluster is 21 pc above the Galactic plane and that it is a relatively large cluster, with a derived radius of 1.8-3.5 pc, depending on how the radius is defined. An estimate of the minimum mass of the cluster is 750 Msun. Although field star contamination in the cluster color-magnitude diagram is great, there is some indication that a blue straggler population may exist in Be 66.
Janes Kenneth A.
Phelps Randy Lee
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