| Abstract | We report the discovery from Hubble Space Telescope/ACS images of an extended globular cluster, denoted by Scl-dE1 GC1, in the Sculptor Group dwarf Elliptical galaxy Scl-dE1 (Sc22). The distance of the dE is determined as 4.3 ± 0.25 Mpc from the I magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch in the color-magnitude diagram. At this distance the half-light radius of Scl-dE1 GC1 is ~22 pc, placing it among the largest clusters known, particularly for globular clusters associated with dwarf galaxies. The absolute magnitude of Scl-dE1 GC1 is MV = -6.7 and, to within the photometric uncertainties of the data, the cluster stellar population appears indistinguishable from that of the dE. We suggest that there may be two modes of globular cluster formation in dwarf galaxies, a "normal" mode with half-light radii of typically 3 pc, and an "extended" mode with half-light radii of ~10 pc or more. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program GO-10503. |
