The distance to the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy: an open question

Aparicio, A.
Bibliographical reference

Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 437, no. 1, p. L27-L30

Advertised on:
12
1994
Number of authors
1
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
38
Refereed citations
35
Description
The distance of the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy is discussed in the light of new, deep photometry of the resolved stars taken in the bands V, R, and I of the Johnson-Cousins system. The tip of the red giant branch is identified beyond doubt. From its position, a distance modulus of (m - M)0 = 24.9 +/- 0.1 is derived, in disagreement with the previous estimate by Hoessel et al., based on Cepheid light curves (m - M)0 = 26.22 +/- 0.2). The new estimate of (m - M)0 = 24.9 implies that Pegasus is at about 0.64 Mpc from the center of gravity of the Local Group. This distance makes Pegasus a highly probable member of the Local Group and is consistent with the heliocentric velocity of this galaxy. Finally, a list of six Cepheid candidates is given on the basis of the new photometry.