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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2017
We derive the age difference between NGC 288 and NGC 362 using the bimodal horizontal branch (HB) of NGC 1851 as a “bridge” in the CMD analysis. Our results suggest that NGC 288 is older than both NGC 362 and NGC 1851 by ⋍ 2 ± 1 Gyr. A new grid of synthetic HBs discloses that age may be the second parameter (2ndP) for this pair provided that the Carretta & Gratton (1997) metallicity scale is to be preferred over the Zinn & West (1984) scale. In addition, the dispersion in ZAHB mass is found to be about twice as large in NGC 362 as in NGC 288, probably due to the much higher central density of the former.