2003/01/15 by Mohammad Heydari, M. Heydari-Malayeri, Frédéric Meynadier +3 · 13 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cluster (spacecraft) #Computer science #Large Magellanic Cloud #Luminous blue variable #Open cluster #Photometry (optics) #Physics #Spectroscopy #Star (game theory) #Star cluster #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030066
published in Astronomy and Astrophysics 400(3), 923-937 (EDP Sciences) · 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A
arxiv created 2003/01/15 · openalex publication_date 2003/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) star clusters R 127 and R 128 using imaging and spectroscopy obtained at the ESO NTT telescope. An advanced image restoration technique allows us to resolve these two clusters into at least 14 and 33 stars respectively and obtain their photometry. In particular, we show that the core of R 127 is composed of at least four stars and identify the Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) component. The closest neighbor of the LBV (star #8) is 15 away. Moreover, from medium dispersion spectroscopy we determine the spectral types for 19 stars in and near both clusters, and in particular present the first spatially resolved observation of the second brightest component of the R 127 cluster (star #3) situated 3 3 from the LBV. By comparing with evolutionary models we also look into the stellar ages. The oldest stars of the cluster are ~6–8 Myr old, whereas the most massive star of the region (#7), formed ~3 Myr ago as an 80 star, has turned into an LBV, the “R 127” star.