| We have studied the globular cluster systems of 60 early type galaxies using archival Hubble Space Telescope images. We discovered that the color distributions of the cluster systems of 30 to 60 percent of ellipticals is bimodal. The bimodality is most likely a signature of two major epochs of globular cluster formation in the history of these galaxies. At least 10% of the S0 galaxies in our sample show similar evidence of bimodality. However, the mechanism for the formation of the redder or metal-rich set of clusters appears to be different in the two galaxies that we studied in most detail, M87 the giant elliptical at the center of the Virgo cluster, and the S0 galaxy NGC 3115. While the red clusters in M87 appear to have formed during a major merger, the metal-rich clusters in NGC 3115 are associated with the thick disk of the galaxy. It seems likely that the red clusters in NGC 3145 were formed during a minor merger that did not destroy the disk.; We measured the turnover luminosity of the globular cluster luminosity function in both the V and I-band. Comparing the turnover luminosities with other distance estimates we find that the absolute magnitude of the turnover luminosity in both bands is constant to within ∼ 0.1 to ∼ 0.2 mag. We conclude that the peak of the globular cluster luminosity function is an excellent distance indicator, with an accuracy comparable to other competing methods.; We have also measured the sizes of individual clusters in our sample. The median size of the clusters appears to be the same in all galaxies. We suggest that this can be exploited to directly measure the distance to galaxies by simple geometrical considerations. |
