Abstract

Context. The stellar populations in the outer Galactic disk are a subject of wide interest nowadays. To contribute to a better picture of this part of the Galaxy, we have studied the nature of five marginally investigated star clusters (Collinder 74, Berkeley 27, Haffner 8, NGC 2509, and VdB-Hagen4) by means of accurate CCD photometry in the V and I passbands. These clusters are in fact located in the third Galactic quadrant. Aims. We aim to obtain the basic parameters of these objects, which in some cases are still disputed in the literature. In the case of VdB-Hagen 4 we provide the first estimate of its fundamental parameters, while for Haffner 8 we present the first CCD photometry. Methods. The analysis is based on the comparison between field stars decontaminated color magnitude diagrams and stellar models. Particular care is devoted to the the assessment of the data quality and the statistical field star decontamination. The Padova library of stellar isochrones is adopted in this study. Results. The analysis we carried out allowed us to solve a few inconsistencies in the literature regarding Haffner 8 and NGC 2509. Collinder 74 is found to be significantly older than reported before. VdB-Hagen 4 is a young open cluster located more than 20 kpc from the Galactic center. Such an extreme distance is compatible with the cluster belonging to the Norma-Cygnus arm. © ESO 2007.