A large multicolour , wide-field photometric database of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy has been analysed using three different methods to provide revised distance estimates based on stellar populations in different age intervals .
The distance to Fornax was obtained from the Tip of the Red Giant Branch measured by a new method , and using the luminosity of Horizontal Branch stars and Red Clump stars corrected for stellar population effects .
Assuming a reddening E ( B - V ) = 0.02 , the following distance moduli were derived : ( m - M ) _ { 0 } = 20.71 \pm 0.07 based on the Tip of the Red Giant Branch , ( m - M ) _ { 0 } = 20.72 \pm 0.06 from the level of the Horizontal Branch , and ( m - M ) _ { 0 } = 20.73 \pm 0.09 using the Red Clump method .
The weighted mean distance modulus to Fornax is ( m - M ) _ { 0 } = 20.72 \pm 0.04 .
All these measurements agree within the errors , and are fully consistent with previous determinations and with the distance measurements obtained in a companion paper from near-infrared colour-magnitude diagrams .