  We present our analysis of Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera
2 observations in F555W (~V) and F814W (~I) of the Carina dwarf spheroidal
galaxy. The resulting V vs (V-I) color-magnitude diagrams reach V ~ 27.1 mag.
The reddening of Carina is estimated to be E(V-I) = 0.08 +- 0.02 mag. A new
estimate of the distance modulus of Carina, (m-M)_0 = 19.87 +- 0.11 mag, has
been derived primarily from existing photometry in the literature. The apparent
distance moduli in V and I were determined to be (m-M)_V = 20.05 +- 0.11 mag
and (m-M)_I = 19.98 +- 0.12 mag, respectively. These determinations assumed
that Carina has a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.9 +- 0.2 dex. This space-based
observation, when combined with previous ground-based observations, is
consistent with (but does not necessarily prove) the following star formation
scenario. The Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy formed its old stellar population
in a short burst (=< 3 Gyr) at about the same time the Milky Way formed its
globular clusters. The dominant burst of intermediate-age star formation then
began in the central region of the galaxy where stars formed for several
billion years before the process of star formation became efficient enough in
the outer regions of the galaxy to allow for the formation of large numbers of
stars. There has been negligible star formation during the last few billion
years. This observation provides evidence that at least some dwarf galaxies can
have complex global star formation histories with local variations of the rate
of star formation as a function of time and position within the galaxy.
