Related papers: Globular cluster luminosity function as distance i…

Thanks to the outstanding capabilites of the HST, our current knowledge about the M31 globular clusters (GCs) is similar to our knowledge of the Milky Way GCs in the 1960s-1970s, which set the basis for studying the halo and galaxy…

We have undertaken a long term program to measure high precision proper motions of nearby Galactic globular cluster (GC) stars using multi-epoch observations with the WFPC2 and the ACS cameras on-board the Hubble Space Telescope. The proper…

Use of the brightest stars in galaxies as a distance indicator and claims that the method supports the `short' distance scale are examined. Data from several different observational programmes are brought together for the first time with a…

In the era of precision cosmology it is essential to determine the Hubble Constant with an accuracy of 3% or better. Currently, its uncertainty is dominated by the uncertainty in the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) which as the…

We present internal velocity dispersion determinations from high-resolution spectroscopic observations of a sample of nine globular clusters in M31. Comprehensive numerical simulations are used to show that the typical uncertainty of our…

Observations of the clustering of galaxies can provide useful information about the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. In order to extract accurate cosmological parameters from galaxy surveys, it is important to understand how the…

The presence of multiple luminous galaxies in clusters can be explained by the finite time over which a galaxy sinks to the center of the cluster and merges with the the central galaxy. The simplest measurable statistic to quantify the…

We present dynamical distance estimates for 15 Galactic globular clusters and use these to check the consistency of dynamical and photometric distance estimates. For most of the clusters, this is the first dynamical distance estimate ever…

The Magellanic Clouds, especially the Large Magellanic Cloud, are places where multiple distance indicators can be compared with each other in a straight-forward manner at considerable precision. We here review the distances derived from…

(Abridged) Accurate luminosity functions (LF) for a dozen globular clusters have now been measured at or just beyond their half-light radius using HST. They span almost the entire cluster main sequence below ~ 0.75 Msolar. All these…

It is well known that Globular cluster systems are different among galaxies. Here we test to which degree these differences remain on the scale of galaxy clusters by comparing the globular clusters (GCs) in optical surveys of the Virgo…

We investigate the unusually rich cluster system of NGC4636 with wide-field Washington photometry. The globular cluster luminosity function can be followed roughly 1 mag beyond the turn-over magnitude. This corresponds to a distance modulus…

Since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope nine years ago, Cepheid distances to 25 galaxies have been determined for the purpose of calibrating secondary distance indicators. A variety of these can now be calibrated, and the…

In the era of precision cosmology the Virgo cluster takes on a new role in the cosmic distance scale. Its traditional role of testing the consistency of secondary distance indicators is replaced by an ensemble of distance measurements…

Globular clusters (GCs) are among the oldest and most luminous stellar systems in the Universe, offering unique insights into galaxy formation and evolution. While the physical processes behind their origin have long remained elusive, major…

We examine the luminosity and B-I color distribution of globular clusters for three early-type galaxies in the Fornax cluster using imaging data from the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The luminosity functions…

Since the first detection of intracluster planetary nebulae in 1996, imaging and spectroscopic surveys identified such stars to trace the radial extent and the kinematics of diffuse light in clusters. This topic of research is tightly…

For precision cosmological studies it is important to know the local properties of the reference point from which we observe the Universe. Particularly for the determination of the Hubble constant with low-redshift distance indicators, the…

Hubble Space Telescope allows us to study the central surface brightness profiles for globular clusters at unprecedented detail. We have mined the HST archives to obtain 38 WFPC2 images of galactic globular clusters with adequate exposure…

A study of the globular cluster systems of 23 brightest, or central, galaxies in 19 Abell clusters has recently been completed. This Letter presents some of the newly discovered correlations of the globular cluster specific frequency $S_N$…