BVI PHOTOMETRY OF STARS IN THE OUTER REGIONS OF M32

B, V, and I CCD images are used to investigate the stellar content of a field 100 arcsec (approximately 350 pc) from the center of the Local Group galaxy M32. After taking into account observational uncertainties, the giant branch is found to be significantly wider than what is expected for a single-metallicity population, indicating that a range of chemical compositions are present. The metallicity dispersion is substantial, as there are stars as metal poor as those in the globular clusters M 1 5 and M30 ([Fe/H] approximately -2.2) and more metal rich than those in 47 Tuc ([Fe/H] approximately -0.7). The majority of stars are moderately metal poor, with [Fe/H] approximately -1.3. The color distribution of giant branch stars in our M32 field may also be different from that in neighboring regions of M3 1, although this result is significant at only the 2sigma level. The brightest stars in our field are half a magnitude fainter in I than those near the galaxy center, and the tip of the asymptotic giant branch OCCurs near M(bol) approximately -4.5, a value consistent with an old, moderately metal-poor, population. We conclude that (1) the stellar content in the outer regions of M32 is different from that near the galaxy center; (2) both mean metallicity and mean age vary with radius in this galaxy; and (3) the metallicity gradient in M32 must be steeper than DELTA[Fe/H]/DELTA log (r) approximately -0.5. The latter value is consistent with what is seen in NGC 4486B, a compact elliptical galaxy with photometric properties very similar to those of M32.