Photometry of neglected open clusters in the first and fourth Galactic quadrants

CCD BVI photometry is presented for eight previously unstudied star clusters located in the first and fourth Galactic quadrants: AL 1, BH 150, NGC 5764, Lynga 9, Czernik 37, BH 261, Berkeley 80 and King 25. Colour-magnitude diagrams of the cluster regions suggest that several of them (BH 150, Lynga 9, Czernik 37, BH 261 and King 25) are so embedded in the dense stellar population toward the galactic centre that their properties, or even their existence as physical systems, cannot be confirmed. Lynga 9, BH 261 and King 25 appear to be slight enhancements of dense star fields, BH 150 is probably just a single bright star in a dense field and Czernik 37 may be a sparse, but real cluster superimposed on the galactic bulge population. We derive preliminary estimates of the physical parameters for the remaining clusters. AL 1 appears to be an intermediate-age cluster beyond the solar circle on the far side of the galaxy and the final two clusters, NGC 5764 and Berkeley 80, are also of intermediate age but located inside the solar ring. This set of clusters highlights the difficulties inherent in studying the stellar populations toward the inner regions of the galaxy.