The Palomar-Las Campanas Observatory- NOAO (PLCON) Open Cluster Survey

菲尔普斯9800126开放星团是研究天体物理学中广泛的基本问题的独特实验室，然而，在被编目的1200个开放星团中，只有一小部分曾被摄影或光电观测到，更不用说用最先进的电荷耦合器件探测器了。因此，可从疏散星系团获得的潜在知识财富在很大程度上仍未得到开发。历史上第一次有可能在技术上观察到疏散星系团中已知的大多数人口。根据NSF的这一奖项进行的研究是为银河系中大多数已知疏散星系团提供第一个全面、系统的基本参数(如变红、距离和年龄)确定的第一步。

Phelps 9800126 Open star clusters are unique laboratories for investigating a wide range of fundamental problems in astrophysics, yet only a small fraction of the ~1200 cataloged open clusters have ever been observed photographically or photoelectrically, let alone with state-of-the-art charge coupled device (CCD) detectors. The potential wealth of knowledge obtainable from open clusters, therefore, remains largely untapped. For the first time in history it is possible technologically to observe the majority of the known population of open clusters. Research conducted under this NSF award represents the first step toward providing the first comprehensive, systematic determination of fundamental parameters(e.g. reddening, distances, and ages) for the majority of the known open clusters in the Milky Way.