The Unified Cluster Catalogue: towards a comprehensive and homogeneous database of stellar clusters

TL;DR

The paper presents the Unified Cluster Catalogue, a comprehensive database of nearly 14,000 Milky Way open clusters identified using Gaia DR3 data and a novel membership probability algorithm, accessible via a public website.

Contribution

It introduces the largest homogeneous catalogue of stellar clusters with a new membership algorithm utilizing Gaia data, expanding the scope of cluster studies.

Findings

Catalogue contains nearly 14,000 clusters.

Over a million probable members identified.

Accessible via a dedicated public website.

Abstract

We introduce the Unified Cluster Catalogue, the largest catalogue of stellar clusters currently listing nearly 14000 objects. In this initial release it exclusively contains Milky Way open clusters, with plans to include other objects in future updates. Each cluster is processed using a novel probability membership algorithm, which incorporates the coordinates, parallax, proper motions, and their associated uncertainties for each star into the probability assignment process. We employ Gaia DR3 data up to a G magnitude of 20, resulting in the identification of over a million probable members. The catalogue is accompanied by a publicly accessible website designed to simplify the search and data exploration of stellar clusters. The website can be accessed at https://ucc.ar.