2002/11/30 by Jay Strader, Jean P. Brodie, Duncan A. Forbes +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/367599
21 pages, including 3 figures. To appear in AJ, March 2003
arxiv created 2002/11/30 · openalex publication_date 2003/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We present low-resolution, integrated Keck spectra of the five globular clusters (GCs) of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We find a tentative age spread among the clusters, with the GC H5 younger by 2–3 Gyr than the others. The clusters generally appear to be very metal-poor ([Fe/H] ∼ -1.8), with the cluster H4 slightly more metal-rich at [Fe/H] = -1.5. We speculate that cluster H4 is similar to the Galactic GC Ruprecht 106, which lacks the [α/Fe] enhancement typical among metal-poor GCs in the Milky Way. High-resolution spectroscopy of individual cluster and field stars will be needed to sort out the surprisingly complex history of GC formation and evolution in this galaxy.