Related papers: The Mira-based distance to the Galactic centre

We reanalyze published kinematic and photometric data for the cool star population in the central 10 pc (240 arcsec) of the Galaxy, while (a) isolating the photometric data appropriate to this population, and (b) properly allowing for…

We present results from a study of ab-type RR Lyrae variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud using the extensive dataset from phase III of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE). The metallicities of the RR Lyraes, determined…

The distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) can be directly determined by measuring three of its properties, its radial-velocity field, its mean proper motion, and the position angle \phi_ph of its photometric line of nodes.…

Semi-regular variables (SRVs) are similar to Miras in brightness, and they also follow PLRs, though not necessarily the same as Miras. As potential standard candles they are more challenging than Miras due to their smaller variability…

Hubble Space Telescope V,I photometry of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud Cluster NGC 1866 shows a well defined cluster main sequence down to V=25 mag, with little contamination from field or foreground stars. We use the main sequence…

We discuss the possibility of enhancing intelligent life searches toward the Galactic center. From the clockwork orbital motions of stars around the Sgr A${}^*$ black hole, we can determine the distance to the Galactic center at an…

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the most luminous satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and owing to its companion, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), represents an excellent laboratory to study the interaction of dwarf galaxies. The aim of…

CONTEXT. The Gaia EDR3 parallaxes constitute the most detailed and accurate dataset that can be currently used to determine stellar distances in the solar neighborhood. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in their calibration…

We analyze the mean luminosity of three samples of field RRab Lyr stars observed in the course of the OGLE microlensing experiment: 73 stars from the Galactic bulge and 110 and 128 stars from selected fields in the LMC and SMC,…

We present an empirical test indicating that the mean I-band magnitude of the red clump stars, used as the standard candle in the recent distance determinations to the Magellanic Clouds and other objects, is age independent for intermediate…

The VISTA Variables in the Via L\'actea Extended Survey (VVVX) allows probing previously unexplored regions of the inner Milky Way (MW). We are looking for new candidate globular clusters (GCs), with the aim of completing the census of the…

It has recently been suggested that the discrepancy between the "long" and "short" distance moduli of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), as inferred from the properties of the Cepheid and RR Lyrae variables, respectively, might be due to the…

Globular clusters are among the first objects used to establish the distance scale of the Universe. In the 1970-ies it has been recognized that the differential magnitude distribution of old globular clusters is very similar in different…

The Galactic globular cluster system is incomplete, especially in the low latitude regions of the Galactic bulge and disk. We report the physical characterization of twelve star clusters in the Milky Way, most of which are explored here for…

Numerous research topics rely on an improved cosmic distance scale (e.g., cosmology, gravitational waves), and the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database of Distances (NED-D) supports those efforts by tabulating multiple redshift-independent…

High precision spectrographs can enable not only the discovery of exoplanets, but can also provide a fundamental measurement in Galactic dynamics. Over about ten year baselines, the expected change in the line-of-sight velocity due to the…

This paper presents the first distance measurement to the massive, semi-detached, eclipsing binary LMC-SC1-105, located in the LH 81 association of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Previously determined parameters of the system are…

Population-II pulsating stars provide a route to extragalactic distances that is independent of the classical Cepheid distance scale and complementary to geometric and tip-of-the-red-giant-branch (TRGB) methods. We apply optical Wesenheit…

Context. The Gaia mission has opened up a new era for the precise astrometry of stars, thus revolutionizing our understanding of the Milky Way. However, beyond a few kiloparseconds from the Sun, parallax measurements become less reliable,…

Open clusters have long been used as tracers of Galactic structure. However, without a selection function to describe the completeness of the cluster census, it is difficult to quantitatively interpret their distribution. We create a method…