Comparative Analysis of M 3 and NGC 2420 using SDSS Data

Shishir Khandelwal, Saurabh Nangia

University of Delhi

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is an ambitious astrophysical survey that has obtained photometric and spectroscopic data for millions of objects in the universe. In this article we explain the use of SDSS to obtain astrophysical data. We also introduce an indispensable tool for astronomers - HR Diagrams, in particular, Colour-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs). Using SDSS data, we plot three CMDs each for star clusters Messier 3 and NGC 2420 and qualitatively analyse their properties. The entire process of our analysis is explained in this article. We hope it will interest undergraduate students particularly the ones interested in astronomy and astrophysics.