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Description
We report the discovery of a young ({tau}~117Myr), low-mass (M~1200M_{sun}_), metal-poor ([Fe/H]~-1.14) stellar association at a heliocentric distance D~28.7kpc, placing it far into the Milky Way (MW) halo. At its present Galactocentric position (R,z)~(23,15)kpc, the association is (on the sky) near the leading arm of the gas stream emanating from the Magellanic Cloud system, but is located ~60{deg} from the Large Magellanic Cloud center on the other side of the MW disk. If the cluster is colocated with HI gas in the stream, we directly measure the distance to the leading arm of the Magellanic stream. The measured distance is inconsistent with Magellanic stream model predictions that do not account for ram pressure and gas interaction with the MW disk. The estimated age of the cluster is consistent with the time of last passage of the leading arm gas through the Galactic midplane; we therefore speculate that this star formation event was triggered by its last disk midplane passage. Most details of this idea remain a puzzle: the Magellanic stream has low column density, the MW disk at large radii has low gas density, and the relative velocity of the leading arm and MW gas is large. However it formed, the discovery of a young stellar cluster in the MW halo presents an interesting opportunity for study. This cluster was discovered with Gaia astrometry and photometry alone, but follow-up DECam photometry was crucial for measuring its properties.
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