Eld. Bica et al., A revised and extended catalog of Magellanic system clusters, associations, and emission nebulae. II. The large Magellanic Cloud, ASTRONOM J, 117(1), 1999, pp. 238-246
A survey of extended objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud was carried out
on the ESO/SERC R and J Sky Survey Atlases, checking entries in previous ca
talogs and searching for new objects. The census provided 6659 objects incl
uding star clusters, emission-free associations, and objects related to emi
ssion nebulae. Each of these classes contains three subclasses with interme
diate properties, which are used to infer total populations. The survey inc
ludes cross identifications among catalogs, and we present 3246 new objects
. We provide accurate positions, classification, and homogeneous measuremen
ts of sizes and position angles, as well as information on cluster pairs an
d hierarchical relation for superimposed objects. This unification and enla
rgement of catalogs is important for future searches of fainter and smaller
new objects. We discuss the angular and size distributions of the objects
of the different classes. The angular distributions show two off-centered s
ystems with different inclinations, suggesting that the LMC disk is warped.
The present catalog together with its previous counterpart for the SMC and
the inter-Cloud region provide a total population of 7847 extended objects
in the Magellanic System. The angular distribution of the ensemble reveals
important clues on the interaction between the LMC and SMC.