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Session 81 - Dwarf Galaxies.
Display session, Friday, January 09
Exhibit Hall,

[81.06] WFPC2 Observations of the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal

C. J. Grillmair (JPL), J. R. Mould (Mount Stromlo and Siding Springs Observatories), WFPC2 ID Team

We present F555W-F814W color-magnitude diagrams of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal along with one of its associated globular clusters. We find the clearly defined main sequence turnoff of an old stellar population, well-sampled to two magnitudes below the turnoff. We also find a number of blue stragglers up to 1.5 magnitudes above the turnoff. We compare the color-magnitude distribution of stars in the globular cluster with that of stars in the field and discuss probable star formation histories in each case. Despite the quality of the data, we are unable to put strong constraints on the initial mass function.


The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: carl@grandpa.jpl.nasa.gov

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