Related papers: A distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud that is p…

The determination of the Hubble constant has been a central goal in observational astrophysics for nearly 100 years. Extraordinary progress has occurred in recent years on two fronts: the cosmic distance ladder measurements at low redshift…

This paper discusses two aspects of current research on the Cepheid period-luminosity (P-L) relation: the derivation of mid-infrared (MIR) P-L relations and the investigation of multi-phase P-L relations. The MIR P-L relations for Cepheids…

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…

We used the 50 cm Binocular Network (50BiN) telescope at Delingha Station (Qinghai Province) of Purple Mountain Observatory (Chinese Academy of Sciences) to obtain simultaneous $V$- and $R$-band observations of the old open cluster NGC 188.…

We have conducted a programme to determine the fundamental parameters of a substantial number of eclipsing binaries of spectral types O and B in the Small Magellanic Cloud. New spectroscopic data, obtained with the two-degree-field…

The stellar mass-luminosity relation is poorly constrained by observations for high mass stars. We describe our program to find eclipsing massive binaries in the Magellanic Clouds using photometry of regions rich in massive stars, and our…

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…

The primary distance indicators are established in our Galaxy and the Local Group. There are at least four different methods which give good distances: methods using proper motions, RR Lyraes, Cepheid variables, and Type II supernovae.…

Using Spitzer observations of classical Cepheids we have measured the true average distance modulus of the SMC to be $18.96 \pm 0.01_{stat} \pm 0.03_{sys}$ mag (corresponding to $62 \pm 0.3$ kpc), which is $0.48 \pm 0.01$ mag more distant…

We have obtained deep infrared $J$ and $K$ band observations of five fields located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) bar with the ESO New Technology Telescope equipped with the SOFI infrared camera. In our fields, 65 RR Lyrae stars…

This paper introduces a statistical treatment to use Cepheid variable stars as distance indicators. The expansion rate of the Universe is also studied here through deriving the value of the Hubble constant H0. A Gaussian function…

We propose a method of distance determination based on the internal structure and dynamics of disk galaxies. The method relies on the universal luminosity profile of a stellar disk represented by an exponential law. Calibrating nearby…

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) are the Milky Way's nearest interacting galaxy pair, offering a unique laboratory for studying tidal effects on galactic disks. Despite extensive survey efforts, the three-dimensional…

We present a determination of the Hubble constant from the joint, free-form analysis of 8 strongly, quadruply lensing systems. In the concordance cosmology, we find $H_0 = 71.8^{+3.9}_{-3.3}\,\mathrm{km}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$…

We present time-series photometry of 21 nearby Type II Cepheids in the near-infrared J, H and Ks passbands. We use this photometry, together with the Third Gaia Early Data Release parallaxes, to determine for the first time…

The accuracy of extragalactic distance measurements ultimately depends on robust, high-precision determinations of the distances to the galaxies in the local volume. Following our detailed study addressing possible publication bias in the…

The period-luminosity (P-L) relation for Cepheid variables is important in modern astrophysics. In this work, we present the multi-band P-L relations derived from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Cepheids,…

The preliminary distance to a long period eclipsing binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud SMC108.1.14904 is presented. The binary system contains two non-active G-type bright giants. The orbital period is 185 days and the orbit is circular.…

We used HST to obtain surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) observations of four nearby brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) to calibrate the BCG Hubble diagram of Lauer & Postman (1992). This BCG Hubble diagram contains 114 galaxies covering…

The extragalactic distance scale builds directly on the Cepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation as delineated by the sample of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). However, the LMC is a dwarf irregular galaxy, quite different from…