Related papers: New absolute magnitude calibrations for W Ursa Maj…
We present new empirical infrared Period-Luminosity-Metallicity (PLZ) and Period-Wesenheit-Metallicity (PWZ) relations for RR Lyrae based on the latest Gaia EDR3 parallaxes. The relations are provided in the WISE $W1$ and $W2$ bands, as…
We reconsider calibration of statistical distance scales for planetary nebulae, examining precision and systematic error for various distance methods used as well as the scales themselves. A different calibration strategy, one based on…
We report parallax and distance estimates for twelve more cataclysmic binaries and related objects observed with the 2.4m Hiltner telescope at MDM Observatory. The final parallax accuracy is typically about 1 mas. For only one of the twelve…
We present new accurate Period-Luminosity (PL) and Period-Wesenheit (PW) relations in the V,J,Ks bands based on a sample of more than 4500 Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) whose photometry was obtained in the context of the…
More than two hundred classical cepheids were measured by the Hipparcos astrometric satellite, making possible a geometrical calibration of the cepheid distance scale. However, the large average distance of even the nearest cepheids…
Gaia parallax measurements for stars with poor astrometric fits -- as evidenced by high renormalized unit weight error (RUWE) -- are often assumed to be unreliable, but the extent and nature of their biases remain poorly quantified. High…
We analyse the results of a 5.5-yr photometric campaign that monitored 247 southern, semi-regular variables with relatively precise Hipparcos parallaxes to demonstrate an unambiguous detection of Red Giant Branch (RGB) pulsations in the…
Spectrophotometric distances to stars observed by large spectroscopic surveys offer a crucial complement to parallax distances that remain very important also after the future Gaia data releases. Here we present a probabilistic approach to…
We present a comprehensive photometric light curve and orbital period analysis of the W UMa-type contact binary EM Tuc. The O-C analysis constructed from all available eclipse timings exhibits a clear upward parabolic trend, indicating a…
We investigate in detail the LiTE of the most probable binary candidate TU UMa. We used a new code applied on previously available and newly determined maxima timings to confirm binarity and refine parameters of the orbit of the RRab…
This study presents new, high-quality, optical photometric observations of three W UMa type contact binaries. The analysis of the corresponding light curves is made using Djurasevic's inverse problem method. To explain the light curve…
Parallax data from the Hipparcos mission allow the direct distance to open clusters to be compared with the distance inferred from main sequence (MS) fitting. There are surprising differences between the two distance measurements, which…
Improved orbits are presented for the visual binaries WDS 02366+1227, WDS 02434-6643, WDS 03244-1539, WDS 08507+1800, WDS 09128-6055, WDS 11532-1540, WDS 17375+2419, and WDS 22408-0333. The latest orbits for these binaries were…
I show that the standard microlensing technique to measure the angular radius of a star using color/surface-brightness relations can be inverted, via late-time proper motion measurements, to calibrate these relations. The method is…
We present the photometric and spectroscopic analysis of four W UMa binaries J015829.5+260333 (hereinafter as J0158), J030505.1+293443 (hereinafter as J0305), J102211.7+310022 (hereinafter as J1022) and KW Psc. The VRcIc band photometric…
We present new photometric data for seven high-amplitude delta Scuti stars. The observations were acquired between 1996 and 2002, mostly in the Johnson photometric system. For one star (GW UMa), our observations are the first since the…
DK Cyg (P = 0.4707) is a W Ursae Majoris type eclipsing binary system that undergoes complete eclipses. All the published photoelectric data have been collected and utilized to re-examine and update the period behavior of the system. A…
Over the past decade the use of the red clump (RC) as distance indicator has increased in importance as this evolutionary phase is well populated and a good local calibration exists. The absolute calibration of the RC in the $I$ and $K$…
We present new constraints on the system parameters of the SW Sextantis star DW Ursae Majoris, based on ultraviolet (UV) eclipse observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. Our data were obtained during a low state of the system, in which…
With contemporary infrared spectroscopic surveys like APOGEE, red-giant stars can be observed to distances and extinctions at which Gaia parallaxes are not highly informative. Yet the combination of effective temperature, surface gravity,…