  High-spatial resolution near-infrared (NIR) images of the central 24 x 24
arcsec^2 (~ 2 x 2 kpc^2) of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1052 reveal a total of 25
compact sources randomly distributed in the region. Fifteen of them exhibit
Halpha luminosities an order of magnitude above the estimate for an evolved
population of extreme horizontal branch stars. Their Halpha equivalent widths
and optical-to-NIR spectral energy distributions are consistent with them being
young stellar clusters aged < 7 Myr. We consider this to be the first direct
observation of spatially resolved star-forming regions in the central
kiloparsecs of an elliptical galaxy. The sizes of these regions are ~< 11 pc
and their median reddening is E(B - V) ~ 1 mag. According to previous works,
NGC 1052 may have experienced a merger event about 1 Gyr ago. On the assumption
that these clusters are spreaded with similar density over the whole galaxy,
the fraction of galaxy mass (5 x 10^{-5}) and rate of star formation (0.01
Msun/yr) involved, suggest the merger event as the possible cause for the star
formation we see today.
