Catalog of Optically Visible Open Clusters with Kinematic and Physical Parameters

A 2002 catalog update from NASA HEASARC, incorporating nearly 1,000 more open clusters than the 1987 Lynga Catalog. It includes new kinematic data like proper motions and radial velocities, with 99.7% of objects having apparent diameter estimates and 74.5% having distance, reddening, and age determinations. The catalog is based on data from SIMBAD and WEBDA databases and was last updated in August 2017.

Use Cases

• Studying the distribution and properties of open clusters in the Galaxy based on the catalog's positional and physical parameter data.
• Analyzing stellar kinematics and cluster dynamics based on the included proper motion and radial velocity measurements.
• Investigating correlations between cluster age, distance, and interstellar reddening (E(B-V)) for stellar evolution models.
• Comparing and updating historical cluster catalogs (Lynga 1987, Mermilliod 1995) with newer data and objects.

Strengths

• Includes nearly 1,000 more objects than the previous Lynga Catalog, representing a large increase in coverage.
• 99.7% of cataloged clusters have estimates of their apparent diameters.
• 74.5% of objects have determinations for distance, reddening (E(B-V)), and age.
• 54.7% of clusters have listed mean proper motions, adding kinematic data absent in older catalogs.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analyses.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 18:06:42.017037; freshness should be verified against more recent astronomical surveys.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on data from the CDS and authors' website, with acknowledgments to SIMBAD and WEBDA databases.

Collection Method

Compilation and update of previous astronomical catalogs (Lynga 1987, Mermilliod 1995) with new objects and data.

Time Range

Catalog creation referenced to 2002, with updates in 2006 and 2017; temporal coverage of the cluster data is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 18:06:42.017037; the underlying catalog data was updated in August 2017.

Geography

Open clusters within the Galaxy (Milky Way).