Near-infrared photometry of the globular cluster Palomar 6

We present JHK photometry of Palomar 6. Our photometric measurements range from the red giant branch ( RGB) tip to approximate to2 mag below the red horizontal branch (RHB), and our color-magnitude diagrams show that Palomar 6 appears to have a well-defined RHB population. The distance modulus and interstellar reddening of the cluster are estimated by comparing the magnitude and color of Palomar 6 RHB stars with those of 47 Tuc. We obtain (m - M)(0) = 14.28 mag and E (B-V) = 1.30 mag for the cluster, and our study suggests that Palomar 6 is clearly located in the Galaxy's central regions. We also discuss the metallicity of the cluster using the slope of the RGB. We obtain [Fe/H] approximate to -1.2 for Palomar 6 and our metallicity estimate is approximate to0.5-1.0 dex lower than previous estimates by others.