The Hubble Space Telescope ’ s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 ( WFPC2 ) has several advantages over ground–based observations for the study of globular cluster luminosity functions ( GCLFs ) and distance determination .
Here we present WFPC2 data on the globular clusters associated with NGC 5846 .
This giant elliptical is the dominant galaxy in a small , compact group located \sim 13 Mpc beyond the Virgo cluster .
We have detected over 1200 globular clusters in three ( central , north and south ) separate pointings .
The luminosity function in each of these pointings are statistically the same , indicating that the mean luminosity ( mass ) does not vary between \sim 3 and 30 kpc from the galaxy center .
This suggests that dynamical friction and bulge shocking destruction processes are insignificant .
We have fit a Gaussian and t _ { 5 } profile to the GCLF ( of the combined pointings ) and find that it is well represented by a turnover magnitude of m ^ { 0 } _ { V } = 25.05 \pm 0.10 and a dispersion of \sigma = 1.34 \pm 0.06 .
Our 50 % completeness level is \sim 1 mag fainter than the turnover .
After applying a metallicity correction to the ‘ universal ’ GCLF turnover magnitude , we derive a distance modulus of ( m–M ) = 32.32 \pm 0.23 .
For a group velocity V _ { CMB } = 1883 \pm 28 km s ^ { -1 } , the Hubble constant is H _ { \circ } = 65 \pm 8 km s ^ { -1 } Mpc ^ { -1 } .