BVI CCD photometry of 47 Tucanae

CCD BVI main-sequence photometry of 47 Tuc is presented, matched to the recent BVI isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985). The main-sequence turnoffs are found to be at V = 17.60 + or - 0.1, B-V = 0.56 + or - 0.02; V-I = 0.68 + or - 0.02, and B-I = 1.24 + or - 0.02. The magnitude difference between the main-sequence turnoff and the horizontal branch is 3.55 + or - 0.15 for all three color indices. A consistent age for 47 Tuc of 17 Gyr and a consistent distance modulus of (m-M)v = 13.2 are obtained for all three indices, and an absolute magnitude of Mv = 0.85 is determined for the horizontal branch stars. The results also favor the adoption of (Fe/H) near -0.5 as the best abundance value for 47 Tuc. 38 references