Program: GN-2008A-Q-92

We have recently discovered, through spectroscopic redshift surveys, a large population of ultra-compact dwarf objects (UCDs) in Fornax and Virgo intra-cluster space. UCDs are a new, luminous tracer of galaxy and cluster formation, but before using them as such a tracer we need a better understanding of the origin of UCDs themselves, as it still remains a puzzle. We propose to use Gemini-N/GMOS medium-dispersion spectroscopy to measure the ages, metallicities and [alpha/Fe] abundances for Virgo UCDs to test theories of how the UCDs formed in the cluster environment and thus determine how they can constrain the general picture of hierarchical galaxy formation.