Planetary nebulae as standard candles. V. The distance to the Virgo Cluster

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/168843· OSTI ID:6642089

Jacoby, G H; Ciardullo, R; Ford, H C ^[1]

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1. Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, AZ (USA) Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (USA)

The O III forbiden 5007-A line fluxes of 486 planetary nebula candidates in six early-type galaxies (NGC 4374, 4382, 4406, 4472, 4486, and 4649) in the core of the Virgo Cluster are identified and measured. Following the procedures and calibrations outlined in previous papers in this series, the observed planetary nebula luminosity functions are compared to an empirical model based on the planetary nebulae in M31, and the distances to the galaxies are derived to be 15.7, 14.4, 15.7, 13.9, 14.5, and 14.2 Mpc. These distances exhibit superb agreement with a dispersion of only 0.8 Mpc and suggest that the cluster depth is less than 2 Mpc. Most importantly, the distances are totally uncorrelated with parent galaxy metallicity, color, UV flux, or Hubble type. 76 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6642089
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal; (USA), Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal; (USA) Vol. 356; ISSN ASJOA; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DISTANCE
EMISSION SPECTRA
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXY CLUSTERS
LUMINOSITY
NEBULAE
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHOTOMETRY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY NEBULAE
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SPECTRA
SURVEYS