A comprehensive study of the open cluster NGC 6866

We present CCD UBVRI photometry of the field of the open cluster NGC 6866. Structural parameters of the cluster are determined utilizing the stellar density profile of the stars in the field. We calculate the probabilities of the stars being physical members of the cluster, using their astrometric data, and perform further analyses using only the most probable members. The reddening and metallicity of the cluster were determined by independent methods. The LAMOST spectra and the ultraviolet excess of the F- and G-type main-sequence stars in the cluster indicate that the metallicity of the cluster is about the solar value. We estimated the reddening E(B - V) = 0.074 ± 0.050 mag using the U - B versus B - V two-colour diagram. The distance modula, the distance and the age of NGC 6866 were derived as µ = 10.60 ± 0.10 mag, d = 1189 ± 75 pc and t = 813 ± 50 Myr, respectively, by fitting colour-magnitude diagrams of the cluster with the PARSEC isochrones. The Galactic orbit of NGC 6866 indicates that the cluster is orbiting in a slightly eccentric orbit with e = 0.12. The mass function slope x = 1.35 ± 0.08 was derived by using the most probable members of the cluster. © 2015 The Authors