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Mid-infrared observations of the Andromeda galaxy, M31, obtained with the Infrared Array Camera on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, are presented. The image mosaics cover areas of approximate 3.7deg x 1.6deg and include the satellite galaxies M32 and NGC 205. The appearance of M31 varies dramatically in the different mid-infrared bands, from the smooth bulge and disk of the old stellar population seen at 3.6um to the well-known '10 kpc ring' dominating the 8um image. The similarity of the 3.6um and optical isophotes and nearly constant optical-mid-infrared color over the inner 400 arcsec confirms that there is no significant extinction at optical wavelengths in M31's bulge. The nuclear colors indicate the presence of dust but not an infrared-bright nucleus. The integrated 8um non-stellar luminosity implies a star formation rate of 0.4 Msun/yr, consistent with other indicators that show M31 to be a quiescent galaxy., ApJL in press; 13 pages including 3 figures. Figure 1 is low-resolution; high-resolution color pictures available at http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2006-14/visuals.shtml Version 2 corrects an error in the stellar mass (the published version is being corrected with an erratum)

There are two main theories for the formation of S0 galaxies: that S0 and elliptical galaxies are formed in the same manner ab initio, or that S0s are mainly spiral galaxies from which the gas has been stripped by interactions with either hot cluster gas or other galaxies. Perhaps the best way to test these formation ideas is to calculate the luminosities of S0 and spiral galaxies in the K band, where dust effects for the spiral galaxies are minimal. If S0s are stripped spirals whose star formation has been quenched, we expect from existing models that S0s should be ~0.75 mag less luminous in K absolute magnitudes than early-type spirals. Using the nearly 25,000 galaxies in the Two Micron All Sky Survey that have total K magnitudes ≤11.25, we are able to select over 19,000 of these galaxies for analysis. Of these, 10,977 are in the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies and 8230 are not. We separate galaxies by both Hubble type and whether they are in or out of nearby clusters and near or far from us. K-band absolute magnitudes are predicted using the velocity field model of Faber & Burstein for galaxies with a velocity of 6000 km s-1 or less with respect to the cosmic background radiation. We present histograms, medians, and means for galaxies of all Hubble types in absolute K magnitudes. In all cases, we find that giant ellipticals are more luminous than S0s, and that S0s are at least as luminous, if not more luminous, in the K band than are spiral galaxies. The K absolute magnitudes of the S0s compared to those of the spirals show that S0s are not gas-stripped spiral galaxies. While a few S0s can be gas-stripped spirals, as a class they are not. We suggest that the E+A galaxies seen in clusters at moderate redshift are S0s onto which hot gas has cooled, producing a temporary sprinkling of star formation.

We present a detailed description of the first direct measurement of the spatial correlation function of X-ray selected AGN. This result is based on an X-ray flux-limited sample of 219 AGN discovered in the contiguous 80.7 deg^2 region of the ROSAT North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) Survey. Clustering is detected at the 4 sigma level at comoving scales in the interval r = 5-60 h^-1 Mpc. Fitting the data with a power law of slope gamma=1.8, we find a correlation length of r_0 = 7.4 (+1.8, -1.9) h^-1 Mpc (Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7). The median redshift of the AGN contributing to the signal is z_xi=0.22. This clustering amplitude implies that X-ray selected AGN are spatially distributed in a manner similar to that of optically selected AGN. Furthermore, the ROSAT NEP determination establishes the local behavior of AGN clustering, a regime which is poorly sampled in general. Combined with high-redshift measures from optical studies, the ROSAT NEP results argue that the AGN correlation strength essentially does not evolve with redshift, at least out to z~2.2. In the local Universe, X-ray selected AGN appear to be unbiased relative to galaxies and the inferred X-ray bias parameter is near unity, b_X~1. Hence X-ray selected AGN closely trace the underlying mass distribution. The ROSAT NEP AGN catalog, presented here, features complete optical identifications and spectroscopic redshifts. The median redshift, X-ray flux, and X-ray luminosity are z=0.41, f_X=1.1*10^-13 cgs, and L_X=9.2*10^43 h_70^-2 cgs (0.5-2.0 keV), respectively. Unobscured, type 1 AGN are the dominant constituents (90%) of this soft X-ray selected sample of AGN.

We have used the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) observations at the north ecliptic pole (NEP) to construct a catalog of X-ray-emitting objects that is both deep and contiguous. We give here an overview of this NEP Survey. Our catalog fully exploits the capabilities of the RASS since the only criterion for inclusion is the source significance and location on the sky. There are 445 unique sources above a flux of ~2 × 10-14 ergs s-1 cm-2 (0.5-2.0 keV) in the 80.7 deg2 region that we consider. We have optically identified 99.6% of these sources and have obtained redshifts for the extragalactic objects. The main constituents of the catalog are active galactic nuclei (AGNs; 49.0%), stars (34.3%), and groups and clusters of galaxies (14.4%). We provide the NEP Survey selection function (solid angle searched above a given flux limit), the AGNs, the clusters of galaxies, and the BL Lacertae X-ray log N(>S)-log S distribution as well as the catalog redshift distributions for AGNs and clusters.

We have used the ROSAT All-Sky Survey to detect a known supercluster at z=0.087 in the North Ecliptic Pole region. The X-ray data greatly improve our understanding of this supercluster's characteristics, approximately doubling our knowledge of the structure's spatial extent and tripling the cluster/group membership compared to the optical discovery data. The supercluster is a rich structure consisting of at least 21 galaxy clusters and groups, 12 AGN, 61 IRAS galaxies, and various other objects. A majority of these components were discovered with the X-ray data, but the supercluster is also robustly detected in optical, IR, and UV wavebands. Extending 129 x 102 x 67 (1/h50 Mpc)^3, the North Ecliptic Pole Supercluster has a flattened shape oriented nearly edge-on to our line-of-sight. Owing to the softness of the ROSAT X-ray passband and the deep exposure over a large solid angle, we have detected for the first time a significant population of X-ray emitting galaxy groups in a supercluster. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of X-ray observations with contiguous coverage for studying structure in the Universe., Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal; 5 pages with 2 embedded figures; uses emulateapj.sty; For associated animations, see http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~mullis/nep3d.html; A high-resolution color postscript version of the full paper is available at http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~mullis/papers/nepsc.ps.gz

The deepest region of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, at the north ecliptic pole, has been studied to produce a complete and unbiased X-ray-selected sample of clusters of galaxies. This sample is used to investigate the nature of cluster evolution and to explore the potential implications for large-scale structure models. The survey is 99.6% optically identified. Spectroscopic redshifts have been measured for all the extragalactic identifications. In this Letter, first results on cluster evolution are presented based on a comparison between the number of the observed clusters in the north ecliptic pole survey and the number of expected clusters assuming no-evolution models. At z > 0.3, there is a deficit of clusters with respect to the local universe that is significant at greater than 4.7 σ. The evolution appears to commence at L0.5-2.0 keV > 1.8 × 1044 ergs s-1 in our data. The negative evolution goes in the same direction as the original Extended Medium-Sensitivity Survey result, the results from the 160 deg2 survey, and the recent results from the ROSAT Deep Cluster Survey. At lower redshifts, there is no evidence for evolution, a result in agreement with these and other cluster surveys.

In the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, an 80.7 deg2 region near the north ecliptic pole (NEP) constitutes the deepest contiguous observation of the X-ray sky. Four hundred and forty-five unique sources have been detected above a flux of ~2 × 10-14 ergs s-1 cm-2 (0.5-2.0 keV). The X-ray data for each source provide a likelihood of existence, position and position error, count rate and error, background count rate at the source position, exposure time, two hardness ratios and their errors, and a measure of extent and likelihood of nonzero extent. We describe the range and statistics of X-ray properties exhibited by the NEP sources and the accuracy with which they have been determined, concentrating on the flux measurement of extended galaxy cluster X-ray sources. We show two examples of sources whose X-ray morphology is useful in their optical identification.

We present here the final results of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project to measure the Hubble constant. We summarize our method, the results and the uncertainties, tabulate our revised distances, and give the implications of these results for cosmology. The analysis presented here benefits from a number of recent improvements and refinements, including (1) a larger LMC Cepheid sample to define the fiducial period-luminosity (PL) relations, (2) a more recent HST Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) photometric calibration, (3) a correction for Cepheid metallicity, and (4) a correction for incompleteness bias in the observed Cepheid PL samples. New, revised distances are given for the 18 spiral galaxies for which Cepheids have been discovered as part of the Key Project, as well as for 13 additional galaxies with published Cepheid data. The new calibration results in a Cepheid distance to NGC 4258 in better agreement with the maser distance to this galaxy. Based on these revised Cepheid distances, we find values (in km/sec/Mpc) of H0 = 71 +/- 2 (random) +/- 6 (systematic) (type Ia supernovae), 71 +/- 2 +/- 7 (Tully-Fisher relation), 70 +/- 5 +/- 6 (surface brightness fluctuations), 72 +/- 9 +/- 7 (type II supernovae), and 82 +/- 6 +/- 9 (fundamental plane). We combine these results for the different methods with 3 different weighting schemes, and find good agreement and consistency with H0 = 72 +/- 8. Finally, we compare these results with other, global methods for measuring the Hubble constant., Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal, 10 figures

Since the launch of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) 9 yr ago, Cepheid distances to 25 galaxies have been determined for the purpose of calibrating secondary distance indicators. Eighteen of these have been measured by the HST Key Project team, six by the Supernova Calibration Project, and one independently by Tanvir. Collectively, this work sets out an array of survey markers over the region within 25 Mpc of the Milky Way. A variety of secondary distance indicators can now be calibrated, and the accompanying four papers employ the full set of 25 galaxies to consider the Tully-Fisher relation, the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies, Type Ia supernovae, and surface brightness fluctuations. When calibrated with Cepheid distances, each of these methods yields a measurement of the Hubble constant and a corresponding measurement uncertainty. We combine these measurements in this paper, together with a model of the velocity field, to yield the best available estimate of the value of H0 within the range of these secondary distance indicators and its uncertainty. The uncertainty in the result is modeled in an extensive simulation we call the "virtual Key Project." The velocity-field model includes the influence of the Virgo cluster, the Great Attractor, and the Shapley supercluster, but does not play a significant part in determining the result. The result is H0 = 71 ± 6 km s-1 Mpc-1. The largest contributor to the uncertainty of this 67% confidence level result is the distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which has been assumed to be 50 ± 3 kpc. This takes up the first 6.5% of our 9% error budget. Other contributors are the photometric calibration of the WFPC2 instrument, which takes up 4.5%, deviations from uniform Hubble flow in the volume sampled (2%), the composition sensitivity of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation (4%), and departures from a universal reddening law (~1%). These are the major components that , when combined in quadrature, make up the 9% total uncertainty. If the LMC distance modulus were systematically smaller by 1 σ than that adopted here, the derived value of the Hubble constant would increase by 4 km s-1 Mpc-1. Most of the significant systematic errors are capable of amelioration in future work. These include the uncertainty in the photometric calibration of WFPC2, the LMC distance, and the reddening correction. A NICMOS study is in its preliminary reduction phase, addressing the last of these concerns. Various empirical analyses have suggested that Cepheid distance moduli are affected by metallicity differences. If we adopted the composition sensitivity obtained in the Key Project's study of M101, and employed the oxygen abundances measured spectroscopically in each of the Cepheid fields we have studied, the value of the Hubble constant would be reduced by 4% ± 2% to 68 ± 6 km s-1 Mpc-1.

A Cepheid-based calibration is derived for four distance indicators that utilize stars in the old stellar populations: the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB), the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) and the surface brightness fluctuation method (SBF). The calibration is largely based on the Cepheid distances to 18 spiral galaxies within cz =1500 km/s obtained as part of the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, but relies also on Cepheid distances from separate HST and ground-based efforts. The newly derived calibration of the SBF method is applied to obtain distances to four Abell clusters in the velocity range between 3800 and 5000 km/s, observed by Lauer et al. (1998) using the HST/WFPC2. Combined with cluster velocities corrected for a cosmological flow model, these distances imply a value of the Hubble constant of H0 = 69 +/- 4 (random) +/- 6 (systematic) km/s/Mpc. This result assumes that the Cepheid PL relation is independent of the metallicity of the variable stars; adopting a metallicity correction as in Kennicutt et al. (1998), would produce a (5 +/- 3)% decrease in H0. Finally, the newly derived calibration allows us to investigate systematics in the Cepheid, PNLF, SBF, GCLF and TRGB distance scales.

Using published photometry and spectroscopy, we construct the fundamental plane and D_n-Sigma relations in Leo I, Virgo and Fornax. The published Cepheid P-L relations to spirals in these clusters fixes the relation between angular size and metric distance for both the fundamental plane and D_n-Sigma relations. Using the locally calibrated fundamental plane, we infer distances to a sample of clusters with a mean redshift of cz \approx 6000 \kms, and derive a value of H_0=78+- 5+- 9 km/s/Mpc (random, systematic) for the local expansion rate. This value includes a correction for depth effects in the Cepheid distances to the nearby clusters, which decreased the deduced value of the expansion rate by 5% +- 5%. If one further adopts the metallicity correction to the Cepheid PL relation, as derived by the Key Project, the value of the Hubble constant would decrease by a further 6%+- 4%. These two sources of systematic error, when combined with a +- 6% error due to the uncertainty in the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a +- 4% error due to uncertainties in the WFPC2 calibration, and several small sources of uncertainty in the fundamental plane analysis, combine to yield a total systematic uncertainty of +- 11%. We find that the values obtained using either the CMB, or a flow-field model, for the reference frame of the distant clusters, agree to within 1%. The Dn-Sigma relation also produces similar results, as expected from the correlated nature of the two scaling relations. A complete discussion of the sources of random and systematic error in this determination of the Hubble constant is also given, in order to facilitate comparison with the other secondary indicators being used by the Key Project.

The distance to NGC 1425 has been derived from Cepheid variables, as part of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. Thirteen F555W (V) and eight F814W (I) epochs of cosmic-ray-split Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations were obtained. Twenty-nine Cepheids were discovered, with periods ranging from 16 to 63 days. Adopting a Large Magellanic Cloud distance modulus and extinction of 18.50 ± 0.10 mag and E(V-I) = 0.13 mag, respectively, a true reddening-corrected distance modulus (based on an analysis employing the ALLFRAME software package) of 31.73 ± 0.16 (random) ± 0.17 (systematic) mag was determined for NGC 1425. The corresponding distance of 22.2 ± 1.0 (random) ± 1.0 (systematic) Mpc is in satisfactory agreement with that found with an independent analysis based on the DoPHOT photometry package.

We report on the detection of Cepheids and the first distance measurement to the spiral galaxy NGC 1326-A, a member of the Fornax cluster of galaxies. We have employed data obtained with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Over a 49 day interval, a total of twelve V-band (F555W) and eight I-band (F814W) epochs of observation were obtained. Two photometric reduction packages, ALLFRAME and DoPHOT, have been employed to obtain photometry measures from the three Wide Field CCDs. Variability analysis yields a total of 17 Cepheids in common with both photometry datasets, with periods ranging between 10 and 50 days. Of these 14 Cepheids with high-quality lightcurves are used to fit the V and I period-luminosity relations and derive apparent distance moduli, assuming a Large Magellanic Cloud distance modulus (m-M) (LMC) = 18.50 +- 0.10 mag and color excess E(B-V) = 0.10 mag. Assuming A(V)/E(V-I) = 2.45, the DoPHOT data yield a true distance modulus to NGC 1326-A of (m-M)_0 = 31.36 +- 0.17 (random) +- 0.13 (systematic) mag, corresponding to a distance of 18.7 \pm 1.5 (random) \pm 1.2 (systematic) Mpc. The derived distance to NGC 1326-A is in good agreement with the distance derived previously to NGC 1365, another spiral galaxy member of the Fornax cluster. However the distances to both galaxies are significantly lower than to NGC 1425, a third Cepheid calibrator in the outer parts of the cluster.

We report on the discovery and properties of Cepheid variable stars in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4548, which is a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. This is one of the galaxies being observed as part of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, which aims to determine the Hubble constant to 10% accuracy. Our analysis is based on observations made with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 during 1996 and 1997. We identify 24 probable Cepheids with periods between 16 and 38 days. They were observed over 13 epochs with the F555W filter and eight epochs with the F814W filter. The HST F555W and F814W data have been transformed to the Johnson V and Cousins I magnitude systems, respectively. Photometry has principally been carried out using the DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME package. A comparison is made with parallel measurements using the DoPHOT package. Apparent period-luminosity relations for V and I have been constructed. Assuming values of μ=18.50±0.10 mag and E(B-V)=0.10 mag for the distance modulus and reddening of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a true distance modulus of 31.01±0.28 mag is derived corresponding to a distance of 15.9±2.0 Mpc. HST Cepheid distances of other spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster are discussed. Their good agreement with the new NGC 4548 distance strengthens the evidence that this galaxy lies within the Virgo cluster core.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) 37 long-period Cepheid variables have been discovered in the Fornax Cluster spiral galaxy NGC 1365. The resulting V and I period-luminosity relations yield a true distance modulus of 31.35 +/- 0.07 mag, which corresponds to a distance of 18.6 +/- 0.6 Mpc. This measurement provides several routes for estimating the Hubble Constant. (1) Assuming this distance for the Fornax Cluster as a whole yields a local Hubble Constant of 70 +/-18_{random} [+/-7]_{systematic} km/s/Mpc. (2) Nine Cepheid-based distances to groups of galaxies out to and including the Fornax and Virgo clusters yield Ho = 73 (+/-16)_r [+/-7]_s km/s/Mpc. (3) Recalibrating the I-band Tully-Fisher relation using NGC 1365 and six nearby spiral galaxies, and applying it to 15 galaxy clusters out to 100 Mpc gives Ho = 76 (+/-3)_r [+/-8]_s km/s/Mpc. (4) Using a broad-based set of differential cluster distance moduli ranging from Fornax to Abell 2147 gives Ho = 72 (+/-)_r [+/-6]_s km/s/Mpc. And finally, (5) Assuming the NGC 1365 distance for the two additional Type Ia supernovae in Fornax and adding them to the SnIa calibration (correcting for light curve shape) gives Ho = 67 (+/-6)_r [+/-7]_s km/s/Mpc out to a distance in excess of 500 Mpc. All five of these Ho determinations agree to within their statistical errors. The resulting estimate of the Hubble Constant combining all these determinations is Ho = 72 (+/-5)_r [+/-12]_s km/s/Mpc.

We report the detection of Cepheid variable stars in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, located in the Fornax cluster, using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Twelve V (F555W) and four I (F814W) epochs of observation were obtained. The two photometry packages ALLFRAME and DoPHOT were separately used to obtain profile-fitting photometry of all the stars in the HST field. The search for Cepheid variable stars resulted in a sample of 52 variables, with periods between 14 and 60 days, common to both data sets. ALLFRAME photometry and light curves of the Cepheids are presented. A subset of 34 Cepheids were selected on the basis of period, light curve shape, similar ALLFRAME and DoPHOT periods, color, and relative crowding, to fit the Cepheid period-luminosity relations in V and I for both ALLFRAME and DoPHOT. The measured distance modulus to NGC 1365 from the ALLFRAME photometry is 31.31±0.20 (random)±0.18 (systematic) mag, corresponding to a distance of 18.3±1.7 (random)±1.6 (systematic) Mpc. The reddening is measured to be E(V-I)=0.16±0.08 mag. These values are in excellent agreement with those obtained using the DoPHOT photometry, namely a distance modulus of 31.26±0.10 mag and a reddening of 0.15±0.10 mag (internal errors only).

We report the detection of Cepheid variable stars and a new distance to the Sc spiral NGC 3198. NGC 3198 is one of 25 galaxies that have been observed with the WFPC2 of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for the purpose of measuring Cepheid distances. Eighteen of these galaxies were targeted by the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, whose objective is to calibrate a variety of secondary distant indicators and determine the Hubble constant to an accuracy of 10%. NGC 3198 was selected as part of this sample because its type and orientation make it very suitable as a Tully-Fisher calibrator. The WFPC2 data are comprised of 13 epochs in F555W (~V) and five epochs in F814W (~I). Two different crowded-field photometry packages (DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME and DoPHOT) were used. The magnitudes derived from these two packages agree to within a few percent. We identified 78 Cepheid candidates in the period range from eight to >50 days, of which 52 were selected for establishing the distance modulus. Period-luminosity relations were constructed in Johnson V and Kron-Cousins I by transforming the F555W and F814W to the standard system. We adopted a distance modulus of μ0=18.50±0.10 mag and mean reddening of E(B-V)= 0.10 mag to the Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheids and found a true distance modulus to NGC 3198 of μ0=30.80±0.16 (random)±0.12 (systematic) mag. This modulus corresponds to a distance of 14.5 Mpc, with random and systematic errors of ±1.2 and ±0.9 Mpc, respectively.

The distance to NGC 4725 has been derived from Cepheid variables, as part of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. Thirteen F555W (V) and four F814W (I) epochs of cosmic-ray-split Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 observations were obtained. Twenty Cepheids were discovered, with periods ranging from 12 to 49 days. Adopting a Large Magellanic Cloud distance modulus and extinction of 18.50+/-0.10 mag and E(V-I)=0.13 mag, respectively, a true reddening-corrected distance modulus (based on an analysis employing the ALLFRAME software package) of 30.50 +/- 0.16 (random) +/- 0.17 (systematic) mag was determined for NGC 4725. The corresponding of distance of 12.6 +/- 1.0 (random) +/- 1.0 (systematic) Mpc is in excellent agreement with that found with an independent analysis based upon the DoPHOT photometry package. With a foreground reddening of only E(V-I)=0.02, the inferred intrinsic reddening of this field in NGC 4725, E(V-I)=0.19, makes it one of the most highly-reddened, encountered by the HST Key Project, to date.

We report on the identification of 255 candidate variable stars in a field located some 1.7 from the center of the late-type spiral galaxy M101 = NGC 5457, based on observations made with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope.

We report the Discovery of Cepheid variable stars in the galaxy NGC 4414, as part of the Hubble 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 I (F814W).

Uncertainty in the metal abundance dependence of the Cepheid variable period- luminosity (PL) relation remains one of the outstanding sources of systematic error in the extragalactic distance scale and Hubble constant. To test for such a metallicity dependence, we have used the WFPC2 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to observe Cepheids in two fields in the nearby spiral galaxy M101, which span a range in oxygen abundance of 0.7+-0.15 dex. A differential analysis of the PL relations in V and I in the two fields yields a marginally significant change in the inferred distance modulus on metal abundance, with d(m-M)/d[O/H] = -0.24+-0.16 mag/dex. The trend is in the theoretically predicted sense that metal-rich Cepheids appear brighter and closer than metal-poor stars. External comparisons of Cepheid distances with those derived from three other distance indicators, in particular the tip of the red giant branch method, further constrain the magnitude of any Z-dependence of the PL relation at V and I. The overall effects of any metallicity dependence on the distance scale derived with HST will be of the order of a few percent or less for most applications, though distances to individual galaxies at the extremes of the metal abundance range may be affected at the 10% level.

We present multiepoch VI observations of the brightest stars in the Virgo spiral galaxy M100 obtained with the WFPC2 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Particular attention has been given to the WFPC2 calibration process, and a new calibration is presented here. We find that a calibration based on short exposure (t ≤ 60 sec) observations of the galactic globular clusters ω Cen, Pal 4, and NGC 2419 yields results that are in excellent agreement with the calibration of Holtzmann et al. However, a calibration based on longer exposures (t ≥ 1300 s) yields magnitudes that are systematically brighter by 0.05 mag, on average, in both V and I. We have independently employed both the DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME and DoPHOT photometry routines in reducing the M100 data and have found that the two packages yield magnitudes that agree to better than 0.05 mag except for the WFPC2 chip 3 and WFPC2 chip 4 I data. Severe crowding appears to be the problem in the case of the WFPC2 chip 3 data, but we have been unable to determine the source of the discrepancy for the WFPC2 chip 4 I data. We consider the better than 0.05 mag agreement for the other chip/filter combinations to be quite good under the circumstances prevailing in this data set: an undersampled point-spread function (PSF), faint stars, a rapidly varying background, and moderate to severe crowding. A color-magnitude diagram for the brightest stars in M100 is also presented, which shows a plume of bright blue supergiants extending to at least V ~ 23 mag, or MV ~ -8 mag.

The measurement of precise galaxy distances by Cepheid observations out to the distance of the Virgo cluster is important for the determination of the Hubble constant ($H_0$). The Virgo cluster is thereby often used as an important stepping stone. The first HST measurement of the distance of a Virgo galaxy (M100) using Cepheid variables provided a value for $H_0=80(\pm 17)$ km/s/Mpc (Freedman et al. 1994). This measurement was preceeded by a ground based study of the Virgo spiral NGC4571 (Pierce et al. 1994) formally providing $H_0= 87\pm7$ km/s/Mpc. These determinations rely on the accuracy with which the position of this observed spiral galaxy can be located with respect to the Virgo cluster center. This uncertainty introduces a major error in the determination of $H_0$, together with the uncertainty in the adopted Virgo infall velocity of the Local Group. Here we propose the use of spiral galaxies which show clear signs of being stripped off their interstellar medium by the intracluster gas of the Virgo cluster as targets for the Cepheid distance measurements. We show that the stripping process and the knowledge of the intracluster gas distribution from ROSAT X-ray observations allow us to locate these galaxies with an at least three times higher precision with respect to M87 than in the case of other spirals like M100. The X-ray observations further imply that M87 is well centered within the intracluster gas halo of the Virgo cluster and that M86 is associated with a group of galaxies and a larger dark matter halo. The combination of these informations could enable us to locate the two stripped spiral galaxies quite precisely within the Virgo cluster and could greatly improve the determination of the Virgo cluster distance., Comment: 21 pages, Latex(aaspp.sty), including 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL (shortened abstract:)

The age of NGC 1651 is 1.6 ± 0.4 billion yr. This letter shows that accurate age determinations of young LMC clusters are achievable with aperture photometry of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images taken in a single orbit of the HST.

We report of the discovery and properties of Cepheid variable stars in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3351 which is a member of the Leo I group of galaxies. NGC 3351 is one of 18 galaxies being observed as part of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale which aims to determine the Hubble constant to 10% accuracy. Our analysis is based on observations made with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 during 1994 and early 1995. The Leo I group contains several bright galaxies of diverse types and is very suitable for linking together a number of secondary calibrators which can be employed at much greater distances than the Cepheid variables. We identify 49 probable Cepheids within NGC 3351 in the period range 10-43 days which have been observed at 12 epochs with the F555W filter and 4 epochs using the F814W filter. The HST F555W and F814W data have been transformed to the Johnson V and Cousins I magnitude systems, respectively. Photometry has principally been carried out using the DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME package. Reference is made to parallel measurements being made with the DoPHOT package. Apparent period-luminosity functions for V and I have been constructed assuming values of μ0 = 18.50 ± 0.10 mag and E(B - V) = 0.10 mag for the distance modulus and reddening of the Large Magellanic Cloud. A true distance modulus of 30.01 ± 0.19 mag is derived corresponding to a distance of 10.05 ± 0.88 Mpc with a reddening E(V - I) = 0.15 mag. A comparison is made with distances estimated for other galaxies in the Leo I group using various distance indicators. There is good agreement with the surface brightness fluctuation and planetary nebula luminosity function methods as calibrated by the Cepheids in M31.

We report on the results of a 5 year coordinated program of spectroscopic monitoring of the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy Markarian 509. The Hβ and He II λ4686 emission lines are found to respond to continuum variations with time lags of ~80 and ~60 days, respectively, considerably longer than the emission-line lags measured for other Seyfert galaxies.

We have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, RX J0018.3+1618, in a deep ROSAT PSPC pointing toward the distant cluster CL 0016+16. The mean radial velocities of the new cluster (z = 0.5506) and CL 0016+16 (z = 0.5455) differ by 1000 ± 390 km s-1, which is comparable to their internal velocity dispersions. The angular separation of the clusters, 95, corresponds to a projected linear distance of 4.2 Mpc. RX J0018.3+1618 has an X-ray luminosity in the 0.2-2 keV band of 1.3 × 1044 ergs s-1, which is about 10% of the luminosity of CL 0016+16. From the redshifts of seven galaxies in the new cluster, we derive a radial velocity dispersion of 540 -->+ 260−120 km s-1, which establishes RX J0018.3+1618 as one of the most distant known poor clusters. Simple energetic arguments suggest that the two clusters constitute a bound system. This discovery adds considerable weight to the suggestion made by Koo in 1981 that CL 0016+16 is part of a massive large-scale structure at z ~ 0.55.

We present results from the Medium Deep Survey (MDS), a Key Project using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Wide Field Camera (WFC) images of random fields have been taken in 'parallel mode' with an effective resolution of 0.2 sec full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the V(F555W) and I(F785LP) filters. The exposures presented here were targeted on a field away from 3C 273, and resulted in approximately 5 hr integration time in each filter. Detailed morphological structure is seen in galaxy images with total integrated magnitudes down to V approximately = 22.5 and I approximately = 21.5. Parameters are estimated that best fit the observed galaxy images, and 143 objects are identified (including 23 stars) in the field to a fainter limiting magnitude of I approximately = 23.5. We outline the extragalactic goals of the HST Medium Deep Survey, summarize our basic data reduction procedures, and present number (magnitude) counts, a color-magnitude diagram for the field, surface brightness profiles for the brighter galaxies, and best-fit half-light radii for the fainter galaxies as a function of apparent magnitude. A median galaxy half-light radius of 0.4 sec is measured, and the distribution of galaxy sizes versus magnitude is presented. We observe an apparent deficit of galaxies with half-light radii between approximately 0.6 sec and 1.5 sec, with respect to standard no-evolution or mild evolution cosmological models. An apparent excess of compact objects (half-light radii approximately 0.1 sec) is also observed with respect to those models. Finally, we find a small excess in the number of faint galaxy pairs and groups with respect to a random low-redshift field sample.

First results from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey images taken with Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC2) demonstrate that galaxy classifications can be reliably performed to magnitudes I814 approximately less than 22.0 in the F815W band. Published spectroscopic surveys to this depth indicate a mean redshift of bar-z approximately 0.5. We have classified over 200 galaxies in nine WFPC2 fields according to a basic morphological scheme. The majority of these faint galaxies appear to be similar to regular Hubble-sequence examples observed at low redshift. To the precision of our classification scheme, the relative proportion of spheroidal and disk systems of normal appearance is as expected from nearby samples, indicating that the bulk of the local galaxy population was in place at half the Hubble time. However, the most intriguing result is the relatively high proportion (approximately 40%) of objects which are in some way anomalous, and which may be of relevance in understanding the origin of the familiar excess population of faint galaxies established by others. These diverse objects include apparently interacting pairs whose multiple structure is only revealed with HST's angular resolution, galaxies with superluminous star-forming regions, diffuse low surface brightness galaxies of various forms, and compact galaxies. These anomalous galaxies contribute a substantial fraction of the excess counts at our limiting magnitude, and may provide insights into the 'faint blue galaxy' problem.

We describe and apply a method for directly computing the power spectrum for the galaxy distribution in the extension of the Center for Astrophysics Redshift Survey. Tests show that our technique accurately reproduces the true power spectrum for k greater than 0.03 h Mpc(exp -1). The dense sampling and large spatial coverage of this survey allow accurate measurement of the redshift-space power spectrum on scales from 5 to approximately 200 h(exp -1) Mpc. The power spectrum has slope n approximately equal -2.1 on small scales (lambda less than or equal 25 h(exp -1) Mpc) and n approximately -1.1 on scales 30 less than lambda less than 120 h(exp -1) Mpc. On larger scales the power spectrum flattens somewhat, but we do not detect a turnover. Comparison with N-body simulations of cosmological models shows that an unbiased, open universe CDM model (OMEGA h = 0.2) and a nonzero cosmological constant (CDM) model (OMEGA h = 0.24, lambda(sub zero) = 0.6, b = 1.3) match the CfA power spectrum over the wavelength range we explore. The standard biased CDM model (OMEGA h = 0.5, b = 1.5) fails (99% significance level) because it has insufficient power on scales lambda greater than 30 h(exp -1) Mpc. Biased CDM with a normalization that matches the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy (OMEGA h = 0.5, b = 1.4, sigma(sub 8) (mass) = 1) has too much power on small scales to match the observed galaxy power spectrum. This model with b = 1 matches both Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) and the small-scale power spect rum but has insufficient power on scales lambda approximately 100 h(exp -1) Mpc. We derive a formula for the effect of small-scale peculiar velocities on the power spectrum and combine this formula with the linear-regime amplification described by Kaiser to compute an estimate of the real-space power spectrum. Two tests reveal luminosity bias in the galaxy distribution: First, the amplitude of the pwer spectrum is approximately 40% larger for the brightest 50% of galaxies in volume-limited samples that have M(sub lim) greater than M*. This bias in the power spectrum is independent of scale, consistent with the peaks-bias paradigm for galaxy formation. Second, the distribution of local density around galaxies shows that regions of moderate and high density contain both very bright (M less than M* = -19.2 + 5 log h) and fainter galaxies, but that voids preferentially harbor fainter galaxies (approximately 2 sigma significance level).

We use the CfA Reshift Survey of galaxies with m(sub z) less than or equal to 15.5 to calculate the galaxy luminosity function over the range -13 less than or equal to M(sub z) less than or equal to -22. The sample includes 9063 galaxies distributed over 2.1 sr. For galaxies with velocities cz greater or equal to 2500 km per sec, where the effects of peculiar velocities are small, the luminosity function is well represented by a Schechter function with parameters phi(sub star) = 0.04 +/- 0.01 per cu Mpc, M(sub star) = -18.8 +/- 0.3, and alpha = -1.0 +/- 0.2. When we include all galaxies with cz greater or equal to 500 km per sec, the number of galaxies in the range -16 less than or equal to M(sub z) less than or equal to -13 exceeds the extrapolation of the Schechter function by a factor of 3.1 +/- 0.5. This faint-end excess is not caused by the local peculiar velocity field but may be partially explained by small scale errors in the Zwicky magnitudes. Even with a scale error as large as 0.2 mag per mag, which is unlikely, the excess is still a factor of 1.8 +/- 0.3. If real, this excess affects the interpretation of deep counts of field galaxies.

We report on the discovery of 30 new Cepheids in the nearby galaxy M81 based on observations using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The periods of these Cepheids lie in the range of 10-55 days, based on 18 independent epochs using the HST wide-band F555W filter. The HST F555W and F785LP data have been transformed to the Cousins standard V and I magnitude system using a ground-based calibration. Apparent period-luminosity relations at V and I were constructed, from which apparent distance moduli were measured with respect to assumed values of mu(sub 0) = 18.50 mag and E(B - V) = 0.10 mag for the Large Magellanic Cloud. The difference in the apparent V and I moduli yields a measure of the difference in the total mean extinction between the M81 and the LMC Cepheid samples. A low total mean extinction to the M81 sample of E(B - V) = 0.03 +/- 0.05 mag is obtained. The true distance modulus to M81 is determined to be 27.80 +/- 0.20 mag, corresponding to a distance of 3.63 +/- 0.34 Mpc. These data illustrate that with an optimal (power-law) sampling strategy, the HST provides a powerful tool for the discovery of extragalactic Cepheids and their application to the distance scale. M81 is the first calibrating galaxy in the target sample of the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, the ultimate aim of which is to provide a value of the Hubble constant to 10% accuracy.

A new hyperluminous infrared galaxy in the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) Faint Source Catalog is identified at a redshift of 0.93. This object has a bolometric luminosity of approximately 10(exp 13) solar luminosity, a very large ratio of infrared-to-optical luminosity, warm dust emission, a ratio of infrared-to-radio flux densities consistent with other infrared galaxies, and an optical spectrum similar to a Seyfert 2 galaxy. IRAS F15307+3552 shares these characteristics and its radio-to-optical spectral energy distribution with two other infrared galaxies, F10214+4724 and P09104+4109. Discovery of a third object with these properties defines an extreme subclass of ultraluminous galaxies powered primarily by star formation. The systematic method used to find this object begins the process of determining the space density of these most luminous examples of the infrared galaxy phenomenon.

We report on the results of a continuation of a large monitoring program of optical spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. The new observations presented here were obtained between 1990 December and 1992 October, and extend the existing database to nearly 1400 days, dating back to 1988 December. The continuum variations are generally smooth and well-resolved, except during the third year of this 4 year project, when the variations were apparently more rapid and of lower amplitude than observed at other times. The broad H(beta) emission line is found to vary in response to the continuum variations with a lag of about 18 days, but with some changes from year to year. The H(beta) transfer functions for each of the 4 yr and for the entire 4 yr database are derived by using a maximum entropy method.

We discuss a magnitude-limited redshift survey covering a region around the south Galactic pole (SSRS2). The survey includes 3592 galaxies and covers a region of 1.13 sr to a limiting m(sub B(0)) = 15.5, directly comparable to CfA2. Together, CfA2 and SSR2 cover more than a third of the sky. The northern and southern surveys are remarkably similar. Both contain voids with diameters as large as 5000 km/s. The southern survey contains the Southern Wall, similar to the northern Great Wall. The distributions of velocity dispersions for systems extracted from the SSRS2 and CfA2 surveys are also remarkably similar. For the SSRS2, an inhomogeneity-independent technique yields Schechter luminosity function parameters M(sup *) = -19.50 and alpha = -1.20 (H(sub O) = 100 h km/s/Mpc, h = 1 unless otherwise specified). The steep faint-end slope is probably attributable to bluer galaxies. By examining the normalized density fluctuations in the SSRS2 and CfA2 surveys, we suggest that the combined sample is not yet large enough to be 'fair.' There are large fluctuations in shells at 10,000 km/s.

We study the topology of large-scale structure in the Center for Astrophysics Redshift Survey, which now includes approximately 12,000 galaxies with limiting magnitude m(sub B) is less than or equal to 15.5. The dense sampling and large volume of this survey allow us to compute the topology on smoothing scales from 6 to 20/h Mpc; we thus examine the topology of structure in both 'nonlinear' and 'linear' regimes. On smoothing scales less than or equal to 10/h Mpc this sample has 3 times the number of resolution elements of samples examined in previous studies. Isodensity surface of the smoothed galaxy density field demonstrate that coherent high-density structures and large voids dominate the galaxy distribution. We compute the genus-threshold density relation for isodensity surfaces of the CfA survey. To quantify phase correlation in these data, we compare the CfA genus with the genus of realizations of Gaussian random fields with the power spectrum measured for the CfA survey. On scales less than or equal to 10/h Mpc the observed genus amplitude is smaller than random phase (96% confidence level). This decrement reflects the degree of phase coherence in the observed galaxy distribution. In other words the genus amplitude on these scales is not good measure of the power spectrum slope. On scales greater than 10/h Mpc, where the galaxy distribution is rougly in the 'linear' regime, the genus ampitude is consistent with the random phase amplitude. The shape of the genus curve reflects the strong coherence in the observed structure; the observed genus curve appears broader than random phase (94% confidence level for smoothing scales less than or equal to 10/h Mpc) because the topolgoy is spongelike over a very large range of density threshold. This departre from random phase consistent with a distribution like a filamentary net of 'walls with holes.' On smoothing scales approaching approximately 20/h Mpc the shape of the CfA genus curve is consistent with random phase. There is very weak evidence for a shift of the genus toward a 'bubble-like' topology. To test cosmological models, we compute the genus for mock CfA surveys drawn from large (L greater than or approximately 400/h Mpc) N-body simulations of three variants of the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmogony. The genus amplitude of the 'standard' CDM model (omega h = 0.5, b = 1.5) differs from the observations (96% confidence level) on smoothing scales is less than or approximately 10/h Mpc. An open CDM model (omega h = 0.2) and a CDM model with nonzero cosmological constant (omega h = 0.24, lambda (sub 0) = 0.6) are consistent with the observed genus amplitude over the full range of smoothing scales. All of these models fail (97% confidence level) to match the broadness of the observed genus curve on smoothing scales is less than or equal to 10/h Mpc.

We investigate the relationships between the characteristic oxygen abundance, the radial abundance gradient, and the macroscopic properties of spiral galaxies by examining the properties of individual H II regions within those galaxies. Our observations of the line flux ratio (O II) lambda lambda 3726, 3729 + (O III) lambda lambda 4959, 5007)/H beta for 159 H II regions in 14 spiral galaxies are combined with published data to provide a sample of 39 disk galaxies for which (O II) + (O III)/H beta has been measured for at least five H II regions. We find that the characteristic gas-phase abundances and luminosities of spiral galaxies are strongly correlated. This relationship maps almost directly onto the luminosity-metallicity relationship of irregular galaxies and is also quite similar to that found for elliptical and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Within our sample of spirals, a strong correlation between characteristic abundance and Hubble type also exists. The correlation between luminosity and Hubble type complicates the issue, but we discuss several interpretations of the correlations. The relationship between circular velocity and characteristic abundance is also discussed. We find that the slopes of the radial abundance gradients, when expressed in units of dex/isophotal radius, do not significantly correlate with either luminosity or Hubble type. However, the hypothesis that both early and very late type spirals have shallower gradients than intermediate spirals is consistent with the data. We find suggestive evidence that the presence of a bar induces a flatter gradient and also briefly discuss whether abundance gradients are exponential, as is usually assumed. We investigate the properties of individual H II regions in a subset of 42 regions for which we have spectra that cover almost the entire spectral range from 3500 to 9800 A. We use those data to estimate the densitites and ionizing spectra within the H II regions. We confirm that the ionizing spectrum hardens with increasing radius and decreasing abundance. We find no correlation between the ionization parameter and either radius or abundance, but this may be due to significant scatter introduced by the simple conversion of line ratios to ionization parameter.

We have measured the count probability distribution function (CPDF) in a series of 10 volume-limited subsamples of a deep redshift survey of IRAS galaxies. The CPDF deviates significantly from both the Poisson and Gaussian limits in all but the largest volumes. We derive the volume-averaged 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5 point correlation functions from the moments of the CPDF and find them all to be reasonably well described by power laws. Weak systematic effects with the sample size provide evidence for stronger clustering of galaxies of higher luminosity on small scales. Nevertheless, remarkably tight relationships hold between the correlation functions of different order

We report the recent discovery of ten BL Lac objects in the Einstein IPC Slew Survey by means of X-ray/radio versus X-ray/optical color-color diagrams and confirming optical spectroscopy. These ten BL Lac objects were discovered using a technique proposed by Stocke et al. (1989) which exploits the characteristic broad-band spectra of BL Lac objects. New VLA detections provide accurate fluxes (limiting f(6 cm) about 0.5 mJy) and about 1 arcsec positions, facilitating the determination of an optical counterpart. All ten new BL Lac objects show essentially featureless optical spectra and lie within the range of radio/X-ray/optical colors of known X-ray-selected BL Lac objects, when about 1 mag optical variability is included. We expect about 50 new BL Lac objects in total, from complete optical follow-up of our now completed VLA work and recent Australia Telescope observations, yielding a complete Slew Survey sample of about 90 BL Lac objects.

A comparison of the galaxy density field extracted from a complete redshift survey of IRAS galaxies brighter than 1.936 Jy with the mass-density field reconstructed by the POTENT procedure from the observed peculiar velocities of 493 objects is presented. A strong correlation is found between the galaxy and mass-density fields; both feature the Great Attractor, part of the Perseus-Pisces supercluster, and the large void between them. Monte Carlo noise simulations show that the data are consistent with the hypotheses that the smoothed fluctuations of galaxy and mass densities at each point are proportional to each other with the 'biasing' factor of IRAS galaxies, b(I), and that the peculiar velocity field is related to the mass-density field as expected according to the gravitational instability theory. Under these hypotheses, the two density fields can be related by specifying b(I) and the cosmological density parameter, Omega.

Measurements of optical emission-line flux variations based on spectra of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 obtained between December 1988 and October 1989 are reported. All of the measured optical emission lines, H-alpha, H-beta, H-gamma, He I 5876, and He II 4686, exhibit the same qualitative behavior as the UV and optical continua, but with short time delays, or lags, which are different for the various lines. Cross-correlation analysis is applied to measure the lags between the various lines and the continuum. Similar lags are found with respect to the UV continuum for H-alpha and H-beta, 17 and 19 d, respectively. The lag for H-gamma is shorter (13 d), only somewhat larger than the lag measured for Ly-alpha (about 10 d). The helium lines respond to continuum variations more rapidly than the hydrogen lines, with lags of about 7 d for He II 4686 and 11 d for He I 5876.

A technique is presented for removing the power spectrum in flux-limited galaxy catalogs is presented and tested using Monte Carlo simulations of the IRAS survey based on N-body realizations of a standard CDM universe. The technique is applied to the 1.2 Jy IRAS catalog, comparing the resulting IRAS power spectrum with previous results in the literature. A qualitative comparison of the IRAS power spectrum with various theoretical models is shown. An extensive set of Monte Carlo experiments designed to test quantitatively the validity of standard CDM on large scales is described.

The paper presents a detailed spatial, kinematical, and dynamical analysis for the cluster A400, based on a nearly complete redshift survey of bright galaxies within 1 Mpc of the cluster center. A dispersed component with a high fraction of spiral galaxies at a velocity of 8200 km/s, and a background group with a mean velocity of 13,400 km/s are identified. It is proposed that the main body of A400 is composed of at least two individual subclusters. If subclustering is ignored, the derived dispersion of the 88 galaxies with measured velocities within 4000 km/s of the bright dumbbell galaxy near the cluster center is 702 km/s. When kinematic information is used to split A400 into likely subclusters, the velocity dispersions of the individual units which make up this cluster are on the order of 200-300 km/s. If A400 is considered a single entity, the inferred blue mass-to-light ratio is 1210 solar masses/solar luminosities. It is argued that A400 is an example of a presently occurring merger, and that the individual components of the dumbbell galaxy were once individual D galaxies within the premerger subclusters.

Radial velocities are presented for 457 galaxies in the 100 Hickson compact groups. More than 84 percent of the galaxies measured have velocities within 1000 km/s of the median velocity in the group. Ninety-two groups have at least three accordant members, and 69 groups have at least four. The radial velocities of these groups range from 1380 to 42,731 km/s with a median of 8889 km/s, corresponding to a median distance of 89/h Mpc. The apparent space density of these systems ranges from 300 to as much as 10 exp 8 sq h/sq Mpc, which exceeds the densities in the centers of rich clusters. The median projected separation between galaxies is 39/h kpc, comparable to the sizes of the galaxies themselves. A significant correlation is found between crossing time and the fraction of gas-rich galaxies in the groups, and a weak anticorrelation is found between crossing time and the luminosity contrast of the first-ranked galaxy.