The relation between the Ultra Compact Objects ( hereafter UCOs ) recently discovered in the Fornax cluster ( Drinkwater et al . [ 2000a ] , Hilker et al . [ 1999 ] ) and the brightest globular clusters associated with the central galaxy NGC 1399 has been investigated .
The question was adressed whether the UCOs constitute a distinct population of objects not linked to globular clusters or whether there is a smooth transition between both populations . Therefore , a spectroscopic survey on compact objects in the central region of the Fornax cluster was carried out with the 2.5m du Pont telescope ( LCO ) .
UCOs and the bright NGC 1399 globular clusters with similar brightness were inspected .
12 GCs from the bright end of the globular cluster luminosity function have been identified as Fornax members .
Eight are new members , four were known as members from before .
Their magnitude distribution supports a smooth transition between the faint UCOs and the bright globular clusters .
There is no evidence for a magnitude gap between both populations .
However , the brightest UCO clearly stands out , it is too bright and too large to be accounted for by globular clusters .
For the only UCO included in our survey , a relatively high metallicity of [ \frac { Fe } { H } ] \simeq - 0.5 dex is measured .