We present a detailed abundance analysis of giant stars in NGC 1978 , a massive , intermediate-age stellar cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud , characterized by a high ellipticity and suspected to have a metallicity spread .
We analyzed 11 giants , all cluster members , by using high resolution spectra acquired with the UVES/FLAMES spectrograph at the ESO- Very Large Telescope .
We find an iron content of [ Fe/H ] =-0.38 dex with very low \sigma _ { [ Fe / H ] } = 0.07 dex dispersion , and a mean heliocentric radial velocity v _ { r } = 293.1 \pm 0.9 km/s and a velocity dispersion \sigma _ { v _ { r } } = 3.1 km/s , thus excluding the presence of a significant metallicity , as well as velocity , spread within the cluster .