THE STELLAR CONTENT OF THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY

We present V,I deep CCD photometry for three fields of the dwarf galax y in Sagittarius (Sgr), located at 1=5.6 degrees, b=14.1 degrees. One of the fields is centered on the globular cluster NGC 6715 (M54), whic h lies in one of the dense clumps of the Sgr galaxy. Comparing the CMD of Sgr with those of globular clusters which are believed to be kinem atically associated with the dwarf galaxy (Da Costa & Armandroff 1995) , we conclude that the stellar population of Sgr presents a spread in metallicity of -0.71 less than or equal to[Fe/H]less than or equal to- 1.58, and that the dominant population (similar or equal to 10 Gyr old ) is extremely similar to the star content of the associated globular cluster Terzan 7. The estimated distance to Sgr is d similar or equal to 24.55 Kpc.