MWSC: Milky Way Star Clusters with Astrophysical Parameters

3,006 confirmed stellar clusters in the Milky Way, including 202 newly discovered clusters, with uniformly derived parameters like distance, age, and proper motion. The catalog was compiled by researchers using data from PPMXL and 2MASS, with a pipeline to determine kinematic and photometric membership probabilities. It is almost complete up to 1.8 kiloparsecs from the Sun and covers the galaxy's central and outer regions.

Use Cases

• Modeling galactic structure and spiral arm dynamics based on cluster positions and distances.
• Studying stellar evolution and cluster dissolution based on uniform age and tidal radius estimates.
• Calibrating stellar membership algorithms using the provided kinematic and photometric probability methodology.
• Investigating the high-latitude cluster population based on the 139 new clusters found at |b| > 18.5 degrees.

Strengths

• Provides a homogeneous set of astrophysical parameters for 3,006 confirmed clusters, where about 1,500 clusters had these basic parameters determined for the first time.
• Includes radial velocity estimates for more than 30% of the confirmed clusters.
• The sample reaches both the central and outer regions of the Milky Way and is noted as almost complete within 1.8 kpc from the Sun.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• For a small subset of the oldest open clusters (ages > ~1 Gyr), the authors found evidence of incompleteness within about 1 kpc from the Sun.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data processed from PPMXL and 2MASS catalogs using a dedicated pipeline to determine membership probabilities and astrophysical parameters.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:50:10.259326; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Milky Way galaxy, with coverage of central parts, outer regions, and neighboring spiral arms.