Abstract
New UBV photometry and CCD spectroscopy of stars near Berkeley 86 are used to examine the possible cluster membership of the WN5 + O6 eclipsing binary system V444 Cygni. The color-magnitude diagram, star counts, reddening, and cluster age all suggest that the system is a probable member of this young (5 ± 1 Myr), moderately reddened (E(B−V) = 0.8−1.2) open cluster. The assumption of cluster membership results in an estimate of (30-40) M ⊙ for the initial mass of the WR progenitor. The relationship of Be 86 to the surrounding Cyg OB1 association is also studied, and a working model is proposed in which several young clusters and other markers of relatively recent star formation lie at the edges of a molecular/dust cloud about 1-1.5 kpc from the Sun
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