Distances to nearby galaxies: Combining fragmentary data using four different methods

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. However, the data on independent distances are very fragmentary, due partly to nature and partly to technological limits. As a result the data are rarely put together in a consistent way; instead, the discussion of distance scales is often focused on one or two methods or on individual objects. Hence the question: what is the current situation with our overall knowledge of distances to the nearby galaxies? We try to answer this question by combining the fragmentary data from all four methods for fifteen objects: the galactic center, the globular clusters M2, M3, M4, M13, M22, M92, and 47 Tuc, the galaxies IC 1613, M31, M33, M81, M100, and M101, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. We pay special attention to covariances among the different distance estimates. This most complete combination to date shows that all four methods are consistent within their random and systematic uncertainties. (C) 1995 American Astronomical Society.