Chromospheric variability in late-type dwarfs from high-resolution spectra of Caii H

Precise photometric observations of stars in the double cluster h and Persei reveal a large spread in the colours and magnitudes of the upper Main-Sequence; half of the stars are variables that are Be stars or related stars. The reported age difference between both clusters is found to be spurious. Rotation apparently affects both the intrinsic and the observed colours of the early-type stars in h and Persei. This result questions the validity of photometric calibrations that heavily rely on h and Persei or similar clusters.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meeting of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.