| Issue |
A&A
Volume 406, Number 3, August II 2003
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 893 - 898 | |
| Section | Galactic structure, stellar clusters, and populations | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20030834 | |
| Published online | 17 November 2003 | |
NGC 6738: Not a real open cluster
1
Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Sede di Asiago, 36012 Asiago (VI), Italy
2
Osservatorio Astrofisico di Asiago, Università di Padova, 36012 Asiago (VI), Italy
3
Universities Space Research Association/US Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, PO Box 1149, Flagstaff AZ 86002-1149, USA
Corresponding author: U. Munari, munari@pd.astro.it
Received:
28
April
2003
Accepted:
3
June
2003
A photometric, astrometric and spectroscopic investigation of the poorly studied open cluster NGC 6738 has been performed in order to ascertain its real nature. NGC 6738 is definitely not a physical stellar ensemble: photometry does not show a defined mean sequence, proper motions and radial velocities are randomly distributed, spectro-photometric parallaxes range between 10 and 1600 pc, and the apparent luminosity function is identical to that of the surrounding field. NGC 6738 therefore appears to be an apparent concentration of a few bright stars projected on patchy background absorption.
Key words: open clusters and associations: general / open clusters and associations: individual: NGC 6738
© ESO, 2003
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.