CCD uvby-beta photometry of young open clusters. I. The double cluster h and chi Persei

We present CCD uvby-beta photometry for stars in the nuclei of the young double cluster h and chi Persei. We find that the reddening is highly variable through the h Persei nucleus, increasing from west to east, with values ranging from E(b-y)=0.328+-0.022 in the western part to E(b-y)=0.465+-0.025 in the south-east. Towards chi Persei the reddening is fairly constant, with E(b-y)=0.398+-0.025. Both clusters share a common distance modulus of 11.7+-0.1 mag., and an age of log t=7.10+-0.05 years.