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D.P. Geisler, B. Dirsch, T. Richtler (Univ. de Concepcion), V. Alonso (Obs. Nacional Cordoba), J. Forte (Univ. de La Plata), K. Gebhardt (Univ. Texas), E. Grebel (Max Planck - Heidelberg), M. Hilker (Univ. Bonn), L. Infante, D. Minniti (Univ. Catolica), M. Kissler-Patig, M. Rejkuba (ESO), S. Larsen (Lick Obs.)
The massive globular cluster system of NGC 1399, the central cD galaxy in the nearby Fornax cluster, has long been a goldmine for studies of globular clusters and what they can tell us about galaxy formation. We have recently obtained a large new database on this cluster system, based on broad-band Washington photometry obtained at the CTIO 4m + MOSAIC II imager and low resolution spectroscopy obtained at the VLT UT2 + FORS2 multiobject spectrometer. This spectroscopic database is especially impressive - our ~400 spectra represent the largest such database yet obtained for any globular cluster system. We present preliminary results on a variety of topics including the cluster metallicity distribution, spatial gradients, kinematics and dynamics.