New Milky Way Star Cluster Candidates from DSS and 2MASS

We present 27 open cluster candidates, including 24 previously unknown, that were found during an ongoing visual inspection of First and Second Generation Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) and Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) images. Employing 2MASS and UKIDSS photometry, 10 of these candidates and three earlier published objects have physical parameters determined by isochrone fitting of their [J,J-H] and [J,J-K] colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and [J-H, J-K] colour–colour diagrams. In order to decontaminate the cluster CMDs from stars belonging to the Milky Way fore- and background, a statistical approach is applied that determines the statistical significance of the density differences between the cluster CMD and the CMD of the Milky Way background. The studied clusters have ages ranging from a few Myr to ≈ 1 Gyr, are only moderately reddened (E(B − V ) ≤ 1. 1) and are situated at distances between 0.95 and 5.5 kpc.