THE EXTENDED GIANT BRANCH OF M32

We have constructed near infrared color-magnitude diagrams for the nearby early type galaxy M32. This diagram reveals the presence of an extended giant branch in M32 which reaches M(bol) = -5.5. The extended giant branch of M32 reaches several magnitudes above the tips of the Galactic globular cluster giant branches and has a much larger color dispersion. While the general color distribution of M32 and Baade's Window giant stars are roughly similar, M32 giant stars reach bolometric luminosities almost-equal-to 1 magnitude greater than Baade's window giant stars. Furthermore, many M32 giant stars are redder (J - K > 1.4) than the reddest Baade's Window stars. We suggest that these luminous stars are the extended giant branch of the almost-equal-to 4 Gyrs old stellar population inferred by several previous studies of M32. Thus, it appears that an intermediate age stellar population in M32 has been directly observed.