Description
CCD UBVI imaging photometry was carried out in the field of the open cluster NGC 2571. From the analysis of our data we state the cluster is at a distance of 1380+/-130pc and its age is 50+/-10x10^6yr. The cluster mass function has a slope larger than a typical Salpeter's law. There are two notorious features in NGC 2571: the cluster contains a high proportion of stars located below the reference line that are serious candidates to be metallic line stars (probably Am-Fm), and shows also a sharp gap along its main sequence that cannot be explained by a random process nor by a biased rejection of cluster members. A striking blue object was detected in the cluster field that could be a white dwarf candidate. We carried out CCD imaging photometry in the Kron-Cousins UBVI system on April 27 and 29, 1994 using a 1024x1024pix CCD with a scale of 0.37"/pix and a field of view of 6.3'x6.3' attached to the 1.54-m Danish telescope at ESO, La Silla, Chile.
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