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Star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2016

S. van den Bergh*
Affiliation:
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria BC V8X 4M6, Canada

Abstract

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Star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) differ from those in the Galaxy in a number of respects: (1) the Clouds contain a class of populous open clusters that has no Galactic counterpart; (2) Cloud clusters have systematically larger radii rh than those in the Galaxy; (3) clusters of all ages in the Clouds are, on average, more flattened than those in the Galaxy. In the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) there appear to have been two distinct epochs of cluster formation. LMC globulars have ages of 12-15 Gyr, whereas most populous open clusters have ages <5 Gyr. No such dichotomy is observed for clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) The fact that the SMC exhibits no enhanced cluster formation at times of bursts of cluster formation in the LMC, militates against encounters between the Clouds as a cause for enhanced rates of star and cluster formation.

Type
Star Formation and Clustering
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1991 

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