An extended star cluster at the outer edge of the spiral galaxy M 33

Abstract

We report the discovery of an extended globular-like star cluster, M 33-EC1, at the outer edge of the spiral galaxy M 33. The distance to the cluster is 890 kpc, and it lies at a projected distance of 12.5 kpc from the center of M 33. Old age (≳7 Gyr) and low metallicity ([M/H] ≲-1.4) are estimated on the basis of isochrone fits. Color-magnitude diagrams of stars, located in the cluster's area, and photometric and structural parameters of the cluster are presented. The cluster's luminosity (MV = -6.6) and half-light radius (r h = 20.3 pc) are comparable to those of the extended globular clusters, discovered in more luminous Local Group galaxies, the Milky Way and M 31. Extended globular clusters are suspected to be remnants of accreted dwarf galaxies, and the finding of such a cluster in the late-type dwarf spiral galaxy M 33 would imply a complex merging history in the past. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.