Variable stars in the dwarf galaxy IC 10

Repeated images of the dwarf galaxy IC 10 obtained over a period of 11 years have been used to find variable stars, Four of these stars appear to be Cepheids, from which a distance modulus has been derived. The foreground reddening to this galaxy is E(g-r) approximate to 1.00 mag [E(B-V) approximate to 0.94 mag], which has been independently derived from the Cepheids, and from the blue supergiants seen in IC 10. Several of the variable stars appear to be have periods and light curves like the Cepheids, but actually lie among the red supergiants. The exact nature of these objects is not very well established. The bona-fide Cepheids yield a true distance modulus of 24.59 +/- 0.30 (distance of 830 kpc). (C) 1996 American Astronomical Society.