We present the first deep , optical , wide-field imaging survey of the young open cluster Collinder 359 , complemented by near-infrared follow-up observations .
This study is part of a large programme aimed at examining the dependence of the mass function on environment and time .
We have surveyed 1.6 square degrees in the cluster , in the I and z filters , with the CFH12K camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-m telescope down to completeness and detection limits in both filters of 22.0 and 24.0 mag , respectively .
Based on their location in the optical ( I - z , I ) colour-magnitude diagram , we have extracted new cluster member candidates in Collinder 359 spanning 1.3–0.03 M _ { \odot } , assuming an age of 60 Myr and a distance of 450 pc for the cluster .
We have used the 2MASS database as well as our own near-infrared photometry to examine the membership status of the optically-selected cluster candidates .
Comparison of the location of the most massive members in Collinder 359 in a ( B - V , V ) diagram with theoretical isochrones suggests that Collinder 359 is older than \alpha Per but younger than the Pleiades .
We discuss the possible relationship between Collinder 359 and IC 4665 as both clusters harbour similar parameters , including proper motion , distance , and age .