2003A&A...410..879G

We present the first CCD photometric observations of the northern open cluster NGC 2126. Data were taken on eight nights in February and December 2002 with a total time span of ∼57 hours. Almost 1000 individual V-band frames were examined to find short-period variable stars. We discovered six new variable stars, of which one is a promising candidate for an eclipsing binary with a pulsating component. Two stars were classified as δ Scuti stars and one as Algol-type eclipsing binary. Two stars are slow variables with ambiguous classification. From absolute V(RI)_C photometry we have estimated the main characteristics of the cluster: m-M=11.0±0.5mag, E(V-I)=0.4±0.1mag, E(V-R)=0.08±0.06mag (E(B-V)=0.2mag±0.15)mag and d=1.3±0.6kpc. Cluster membership is suggested for three variable stars from their positions on the colour-magnitude diagram.