The bubble space telescope key project on the extragalactic distance scale. XI. The cepheids in NGC 44141

Abstract

We report the discovery of Cepheid variable stars in the galaxy NGC 4414, as part of the Rubble Space Telescope (HST) Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. Observations were obtained with the HST Wide-Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) for 13 epochs at V (F555W) and 4 at / (F814W). Photometry was performed using two independent programs, DoPHOT and DAOPHOT/ ALLFRAME. We find 11 Cepheids with high-quality light curves and well-determined periods of 19-70 days. Nine of these Cepheids are used in fitting the period-luminosity relation. Assuming an LMC distance modulus of 18.50 mag and E(B- V) -0.10 mag, we derive a reddening-corrected distance modulus for NGC 4414 of 31.41 ± 0.17 (..