In order to fully understand the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds, the star formation process, and the evolution of circumstellar disks, these phenomena must be studied in different Galactic environments with a range of stellar contents and positions in the Galaxy. The young massive association Cygnus OB2, in the Cygnus-X region, is a unique target to study how star formation and the evolution of circumstellar disks proceed in the presence of a large number of massive stars. We present a catalog obtained with recent optical observations in the r, i, z filters with OSIRIS, mounted on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS telescope, which is the deepest optical catalog of Cyg OB2 to date. The catalog consists of 64,157 sources down to M = 0.15 M ☉ at the adopted distance and age of Cyg OB2. A total of 38,300 sources have good photometry in all three bands. We combined the optical catalog with existing X-ray data of this region, in order to define the cluster locus in the optical diagrams. The cluster locus in the r – i versus i – z diagram is compatible with an extinction of the optically selected cluster members in the 2.64 m < AV < 5.57 m range. We derive an extinction map of the region, finding a median value of AV = 4.33 m in the center of the association, decreasing toward the northwest. In the color-magnitude diagrams, the shape of the distribution of main-sequence stars is compatible with the presence of an obscuring cloud in the foreground ~850 ± 25 pc from the Sun.
Advertised on
References
2012 ApJS, 202, 19
It may interest you
-
The most massive stars in the universe are often born and evolve in binary and multiple systems — that is, in pairs or groups bound by their mutual gravity. Understanding how they interact with each other is key to explaining everything from their formation to the impact they have on the galaxies they inhabit. The MONOS project (Multiplicity Of Northern O-type Spectroscopic systems) aims to study these systems in the northern sky, combining spectroscopic observations (which analyze light split into its component colors to measure stellar velocities and physical properties) with photometryAdvertised on -
The rocky planet GJ 1132 b, with Earth-like mass and radius, is a prime candidate for atmospheric studies. Previous observations with Hubble and JWST yielded conflicting results about its atmosphere. This study used three transit observations with the CRIRES+ instrument to search for He i, HCN, CH₄, and H₂O in GJ 1132 b's atmosphere. No clear atmospheric signals were detected, but upper limits for CH₄, HCN, and H₂O were established. The results suggest that if GJ 1132 b has an atmosphere, it is not dominated by hydrogen. The work highlights the challenges of detecting high molecular weightAdvertised on -
Measuring galaxy sizes is essential for understanding how they were formed and evolved across time. However, traditional methods based on l ight concentration or isophotal densities often lack a clear physical meaning. A recent study from Trujillo+20 explores a more physically motivated definition: the radius R 1, where the stellar surface density falls to 1 solar masses per parsec square —roughly the threshold for gas to form stars in galaxies like the Milky Way. In this work, Arjona-Gálvez+25 uses over 1,000 galaxies from several state-of-the-art cosmological simulations (AURIGA, HESTIAAdvertised on