NGC 6402. I. BV photometry

This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the deepest color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of NGC 6402 available in the literature. Statistical decontamination of field stars as well as differential reddening corrections are performed in order to derive a precise ridgeline and hence physical parameters of the cluster.

We discuss previous attempts at deriving a reddening value for the cluster, and argue in favor of a value E(B-V)=0.57+/-0.02, which is significantly higher than indicated by either the Burstein & Heiles or Schlegel et al. (corrected according to Bonifacio et al.) interstellar dust maps. Differential reddening across the face of the cluster, which we find to be present at the level of {Delta}E(B-V){approx}0.17mag, is taken into account in our analysis.