Multi-Object Spectroscopy of Open Clusters with FLAMES: Preliminary GTO Results

We report on preliminary results of VLT/FLAMES observations of the old open clusters NGC 2506, Mel 66 and Cr 261, obtained as part of our Guaranteed Time on this instrument. We focus in particular on the very old cluster Cr 261, one of the oldest open clusters in the Galaxy. We compare the derived Li abundances with those of other old clusters, and we discuss briefly Li depletion on the main-sequence from the age of the Hyades to ∼8 Gyr. 1 The GTO Program on Open Clusters With the advent of the multi-object spectrograph FLAMES at the VLT [13], the study of open clusters has received a great boost due both to the larger telescope area and to the multiplexing capability offered by the new ins…