3 Comments on new information and new data included

In this section we comment on some important information given in the catalogue.

Designations - An additional remark on the nature of the open clusters is provided. Among others, we flag the POCR (Possible Open Cluster Remnant, Bica et al. 2001). There are 34 objects located at relatively high galactic latitudes ( $b\geq 15\degr$) which appear to be late stages of star cluster dynamical evolution. The categories also include possible moving groups like the objects catalogued by Latysev and non-identified clusters.

Kinematics - Recently, many open clusters were investigated and their mean proper motions (Dias et al. 2001, 2002; Baumgardt et al. 2000) could be determined. New mean proper motions for 280 objects, and radial velocities for 182 were inserted in the list.

Fundamental parameters - The main source of the fundamental parameters (reddening, distance and age) was the WEBDA which uses the information compiled by Lyngå (1987), Loktin et al. (2000), Dambis (1998) and Malysheva (1997).

All the clusters investigated by Baumgardt et al. (2000) had their distances estimated from the mean Hipparcos parallaxes of the stars considered as members. Recently we investigated 4 open clusters and determined the mean Hipparcos parallax of stars with membership probability provided by Tycho2 proper motions (Dias et al. 2001). The catalogue includes distances derived from mean parallaxes for Ruprecht 147, Stock 10, vdB-Hagen 23, vdB-Hagen 34, all within 1 kpc. Also, a number of parameters from isolated studies were added.

Newly discovered open clusters - The list includes 191 clusters not present in the previous catalogues. To mention some cases: Platais et al. (1998) - 12 open clusters were discovered using Hipparcos data. They are nearby and extended objects; ESO-SC - these objects (more than 100) were published as probable new open clusters in the ESO catalogue Lauberts (1982); Loiano 1 - A photometric study of the surrounding stellar field (Bernabei & Polcaro 2001) revealed that this object lies inside the sky area of a previously undetected open cluster of intermediate age. Alessi 1 to 12 are non catalogued objects in the solar vicinity. Their fundamental parameters were recently determined showing that they are located at $d \leq 1~\rm kpc$ (Alessi et al. 2002).