2004AJ....128.1228S

We have extracted JHK_Sphotometry from the All-Sky Point Source Catalog of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) in the vicinity of the globular cluster Lyngå 7. The cluster color-magnitude diagram (CMD) extends from the tip of the red giant branch to approximately 1 mag below the core helium burning red clump stars. The reddening-independent red giant branch slope in the 2MASS photometric system is measured to be Δ(J-K_S)/ΔK_S=-0.104±0.004, which implies a metal abundance of [Fe/H]=-0.76±0.06 on the Carretta & Gratton scale. Adopting a reddening of E(B-V)=0.73±0.12 as the average of previously published values, we use the inferred absolute K-band magnitude of the red clump [M_K(RC)=-1.28±0.07] to calculate a distance of (m-M)₀=14.33±0.10 (7.3±0.3 kpc). Finally, we have reanalyzed the previously published optical CMD of Lyngå 7 from Ortolani and coworkers along with the 2MASS near-IR photometry and conclude that Lyngå 7 is close in age to 47 Tucanae, if not slightly (∼2 Gyr) younger.