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P. W. Hodge (U. Washington)
Except for the case of the Magellanic Clouds, the cluster populations of irregular galaxies have only recently been explored. Primarily using HST and mainly for Local Group irregulars, the data so far suggest that cluster formation in such a galaxy is highly variable in time, space and relative number. Generally, the specific frequency of globular clusters is low (but somewhat uncertain, largely because there are few very massive irregular galaxies in or near the Local Group). This talk will show that the analogously-defined specific frequency of "open clusters" in irregular galaxies ranges over more than an order of magnitude. Data from surveys of Local Group irregulars made with the HST demonstrate that certain environments are far more efficient than others in forming star clusters. This research was partially supported by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
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