ABSTRACT
New photoelectric UBV photometry for 46 stars and MK spectral types for 18 stars in the field of NGC 2353 confirm a cluster distance of 1.2 + or - 0.08 kpc and foreground extinction of E(B-V) = 0.116 + or - 0.007 with a variable extinction of about 0.041. A cluster age of about 7.6 million yr is found, a value which is older than previous determinations and places in question the membership of HD 55879 (09 II-III), the brightest star in the cluster field. The color-magnitude diagram (CMD) also suggests a binary frequency of more than one-third and the presence of a background group of distant, heavily reddened B stars. Analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic data gives a total of 65 members with 50 to B = 15.0 or less. In comparison, star counts suggest 59 + or - 17 (B = 15.0 or less) and 229 + or - 52 (B = 21.0 or less) members; these are concentrated into an inner radius of about 5 arcmin but include members out to a halo radius of about 10 arcmin.