THE EXTRAGALACTIC DISTANCE SCALE WITHOUT CEPHEIDS. III.

Abstract

The Cepheid period-luminosity relation is the basis of distances of galaxies in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Key Project. The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is an alternative basis. Using archival HST data, we check the calibration of the fundamental plane of early-type galaxies and the luminosity of type Ia supernovae. Using all four distance indicators (i.e., including the infrared Tully-Fisher relation and surface brightness fluctuations as well) we find that the TRGB and Cepheid distance scales are consistent. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society.