BERKELEY 93 - A DISTANT STAR CLUSTER NESTLED IN A DUST CLOUD

While performing galactic and extragalactic studies near the galactic plane in Cepheus, CCD frames in B, V, and R were taken of the faint (V greater-than-or-equal-to 16m), previously unstudied open star cluster Berkeley 93 (Be 93). Our results indicate that this object is the cor e of a larger aggregate, is slightly evolved, strongly reddened [E(B - V) almost-equal-to 1.5], and shows a pronounced variable reddening th at is probably due to the location of the cluster inside (near the bor der) a dust cloud. By far the reddest, and obviously most evolved star is a (variable) carbon star that-because of its reddening and locatio n-appears to be a cluster member. We present arguments in favor of a l arge distance of more than 5 kpc for Be 93 which possibly belongs to t he galactic warp. As an addendum, we present six star concentrations d iscovered on the POSS or ESO/SERC atlas that might represent hitherto uncatalogued open star clusters of ''Berkeley type.''