NGC-1569 - IDENTIFICATION FROM CA-II INFRARED LINE SPECTRA OF THE OBJECTS-A,B AS SUPERLUMINOUS STAR-CLUSTERS

We present blue and near-infrared spectroscopic data which provide evi dence that the stellar-like objects (called A and B) in the nucleus of NGC 1569 are star clusters. The Ca II infrared triplet absorption lin es and the slope of the spectral continuum reveal that the star cluste r B is in the red supergiant phase of the cluster evolution at an age of 12 Myr, while the star cluster A is in the blue star phase at an ag e of 13-20 Myr. Evidence for a stellar condensation is also found with in the large H II region close to A as indicated by the Ca II triplet present in its near-infrared spectrum. We give reddening-corrected emi ssion line ratios for this H II region.