Milky Way open cluster system
E459051
The Milky Way open cluster system is the collective population of loosely bound star clusters within our galaxy, formed from the galactic disk’s molecular clouds and serving as key tracers of its structure, star formation history, and chemical evolution.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astronomical system
ⓘ
population of star clusters ⓘ |
| affectedBy |
Galactic tidal field
ⓘ
encounters with giant molecular clouds ⓘ spiral arm passages ⓘ |
| composedOf |
loosely bound star clusters
ⓘ
open star clusters ⓘ |
| containsOldPopulations | yes ⓘ |
| containsYoungPopulations | yes ⓘ |
| contrastsWith | Milky Way globular cluster system ⓘ |
| hasClusterMembershipRange | tens of stars to several thousand stars per cluster ⓘ |
| hasDynamicalState | loosely gravitationally bound ⓘ |
| hasKinematicTracers |
proper motions of member stars
ⓘ
radial velocities of member stars ⓘ |
| hasSelectionEffects |
incompleteness at large distances
ⓘ
strong extinction near the Galactic plane ⓘ |
| hasSubpopulation |
classical open clusters
ⓘ
dissolving or remnant clusters ⓘ embedded clusters ⓘ |
| hasTypicalAgeRange | a few million years to several billion years ⓘ |
| hasTypicalLifetime | hundreds of millions of years for most clusters ⓘ |
| hasTypicalLocation |
Galactic thin disk
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
near the Galactic plane ⓘ |
| hasTypicalMetallicity | near-solar or supersolar metallicity ⓘ |
| helpsConstrain |
disk heating and dynamical evolution
ⓘ
pattern speed of the Milky Way spiral arms ⓘ star formation rate in the Galactic disk ⓘ |
| includesNotableMembers |
Hyades open cluster
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Pleiades open cluster NERFINISHED ⓘ Praesepe open cluster NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedIn | Milky Way disk NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| observedUsing |
astrometric surveys such as Gaia
ⓘ
infrared photometry ⓘ optical photometry ⓘ |
| originatesFrom | molecular clouds in the Galactic disk ⓘ |
| partOf | Milky Way NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| studiedIn |
Galactic disk population studies
ⓘ
open cluster catalogues and surveys ⓘ |
| subjectOf | Galactic archaeology studies ⓘ |
| traces |
Galactic chemical evolution
ⓘ
Galactic disk structure ⓘ Galactic star formation history ⓘ Milky Way spiral arms NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedFor |
calibrating the cosmic distance scale
ⓘ
determining the Galactic radial metallicity gradient ⓘ mapping the Milky Way spiral pattern ⓘ studying stellar evolution ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.