A SEARCH FOR STAR-CLUSTERS FROM THE HIPPARCOS DATA

We present results of a search for nearby star clusters and associatio ns using Hipparcos Catalogue data, restricting the sample to stars wit h parallaxes above 2 mas (d less than or similar to 500 pc). Two new O B associations have been identified in the Carina-Vela and Cepheus-Cyg nus-Lyra-Vulpecula regions. A very probable new open cluster has been discovered in Carina. The cluster, a Car, named after its brightest me mber, is young (60 Myr) and nearby (d = 132 pc). However, only seven b ona fide members can be drawn from the Hipparcos data. We report a det ection of nine open cluster candidates in the distance range of 150 to 400 pc, and six possible associations almost all located within the G ould belt, although slightly older than the known nearby associations. In all cases, we present Yale theoretical isochrone fits to the color -magnitude diagrams, which indicate a moderate spread of ages between 60 to 200 Myr. Evidently, these young open cluster and association can didates are related to the overall distribution of young OB and A-type stars in the solar neighborhood.