A Cepheid distance to the Fornax cluster and the local expansion rate of the Universe

Barry F. Madore (), Wendy L. Freedman, N. Silbermann, Paul Harding, John Huchra, Jeremy R. Mould, John A. Graham, Laura Ferrarese, Brad K. Gibson, Mingsheng Han, John G. Hoessel, Shaun M. Hughes, Garth D. Illingworth, Randy Phelps, Shoko Sakai and Peter Stetson
Additional contact information
Barry F. Madore: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Wendy L. Freedman: Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
N. Silbermann: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Paul Harding: Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
John Huchra: Harvard-Smithsonian Insitute, Center for Astrophysics
Jeremy R. Mould: Mt Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Institute of Advanced Studies, Private Bag
John A. Graham: Carnegie Institute of Washington
Laura Ferrarese: California Institute of Technology, MS 105-24 Robinson Laboratory
Brad K. Gibson: Harvard-Smithsonian Insitute, Center for Astrophysics
Mingsheng Han: University of Wisconsin
John G. Hoessel: University of Wisconsin
Shaun M. Hughes: Royal Greenwich Observatory
Garth D. Illingworth: Lick Observatory, University of California
Randy Phelps: Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Shoko Sakai: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Peter Stetson: Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

Nature, 1998, vol. 395, issue 6697, 47-50

Abstract: Abstract Both galaxy distances and velocities are required for the determination of the expansion rate of the Universe, as described by the Hubble constant H0. The radial velocities of galaxies arise not just from this expansion but also from random components and large-scale flows. To reach out to distances dominated by the overall cosmic expansion, it is necessary to probe large physical scales where galaxy–galaxy and galaxy–cluster interactions become lessimportant. But accurate distances of nearby galaxies and clusters (commonly measured1 using Cepheid variable stars) are nevertheless required to calibrate the indirect distance indicators generally used to measure these large scales. Here we report aCepheid distance of 18.6 ± 1.9 (statistical error) ± 1.9 Mpc (systematic error) for the galaxy NGC1365 in Fornax, a cluster of galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere. We find a value of H0 = 70 km s−1 Mpc−1 from Fornax alone, and 73 km s−1 Mpc−1 from the intervening galaxy flow, each corrected for infall into the Virgo cluster. These values are consistent with the Hubble constant measured in the far field using secondary methods2. Our data support previous suggestions3,4,5 that the local small-scale velocity field has very small scatter (∼±70 km s−1).

Date: 1998
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DOI: 10.1038/25678

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