Related papers: DIRECT Distances to Local Group Galaxies
Near-field cosmology -- using detailed observations of the Local Group and its environs to study wide-ranging questions in galaxy formation and dark matter physics -- has become a mature and rich field over the past decade. There are…
We have determined the distance to M33 using the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) and the red clump (RC), from the VI photometry of stars in ten regions of M33 based on HST/WFPC2 images. The regions used in this study are located at R=2.6…
Dwarf galaxies in the local group provide a unique astrophysical laboratory. Despite their proximity some of these systems still lack a reliable distance determination as well as studies of their stellar content and star formation history.…
The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (ANGST) has acquired deep ACS imaging of a field in the outer disk of the large spiral galaxy M81. These data were obtained over a total of 20 HST orbits, providing a baseline long enough to reliably…
We have conducted a variability survey of the local group galaxy M33 using g', r', and i' observations from 27 nights spanning 17 months made with the MegaPrime/MegaCam instrument on the 3.6 m CFHT telescope. We identify more than 36000…
We explore evolution in the dust-to-gas ratio with density within four well-resolved Local Group galaxies - the LMC, SMC, M31, and M33. We do this using new ${\it Herschel}$ maps, which restore extended emission that was missed by previous…
Cepheids have been observed in NGC 5236 (M 83) using the ANTU (UT1) 8.2 meter telescope of the ESO VLT with FORS1. Observations over 34 epochs in V and I have been made between January 2000 and July 2001. Twelve Cepheid candidates have…
The Local Group Census is a narrow- and broad-band survey of all the galaxies of the Local Group above dec = -30 deg, in progress at the 2.5m Isaac Newton telescope on La Palma. We discuss here the ability of the survey to detect symbiotic…
We present Cousins $R$ and $I$ band photometry of variable stars in a $\sim13'\times 13'$ region in the disk of M31 galaxy, obtained during 141 nights. Of the 26 Cepheid variables present in the region, two are newly discovered, 11 are…
In recent years the census of known satellites in our own Local Group and in nearby galaxy groups has increased substantially due to sensitive wide-area surveys. In the Local Group these surveys have more than doubled its known galaxy…
I summarize recent work comparing relative distances measured to individual galaxies with independent methods. The comparisons include: ground-based surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) and fundamental plane distances to 170 galaxies,…
The 3D velocities of M31 and M33 are important for understanding the evolution and cosmological context of the Local Group. Their most massive stars are detected by Gaia, and we use Data Release 2 (DR2) to determine the galaxy proper…
We derive the basic properties of seven Galactic open clusters containing Cepheids and construct their period-luminosity (P-L) relations. For our cluster main-sequence fitting we extend previous Hyades-based empirical color-temperature…
Long range observations in the field of astronomy have opened up our understanding of the Solar System, the Galaxy and the wider Universe. In this paper we discuss the idea of direct in-situ reconnaissance of nearby stellar systems, using…
A detailed description is given of the data analysis leading to the discovery of young massive star clusters (YMCs) in a sample of 21 nearby galaxies. A new useful tool, ishape, for the derivation of intrinsic shape parameters of compact…
We present Period-Luminosity Relations (PLRs) for 55 Cepheids in M31 with periods ranging from 4 to 78 days observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) using the same three-band photometric system recently used to calibrate their…
Low-resolution LAMOST and Keck spectra of blue supergiant stars distributed over the disks of the Local Group spiral galaxies M 31 and M 33 are analyzed to determine stellar effective temperatures, gravities, metallicities, and reddening.…
Six of the principal galaxy distance indicators are discussed: Cepheid variables, the Tully-Fisher relation, the Dn-sigma relation, Surface Brightness Fluctuations, Brightest Cluster Galaxies, and Type Ia Supernovae. The role they play in…
The first results are presented of a four-year program dedicated to the CCD observations of Cepheids in the nearby galaxy IC 1613. Since the program was carried out with a relatively small telescope, the Dutch 0.9 m at ESO-La Silla, the…
Detached eclipsing double line spectroscopic binaries offer an opportunity to measure directly stellar parameters: mass, luminosity, radius, as well as the distance. The only non-trivial step is the need to determine surface brightness of…