[FMS2007] V69 , the SIMBAD biblio

We discuss a new distance to NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) based on Cepheid variables observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Twelve F555W (V) and six F814W (I) epochs of cosmic-ray-split WFPC2 observations were obtained. A total of 56 bona fide Cepheids were discovered, with periods ranging from 5 to ∼50 days; five of these are likely Population II Cepheids of the W Virginis class, associated with the bulge or halo of NGC 5128. Based on the period and V- and I-band luminosities of a subsample of 42 classical (Population I) Cepheids, and adopting an LMC distance modulus and extinction of 18.50±0.10 mag and E(B-V)=0.10 mag, respectively, the true reddening-corrected distance modulus to NGC 5128 is µ₀=27.67±0.12 (random)±0.16 (systematic) mag, corresponding to a distance of 3.42±0.18 (random)±0.25 (systematic) Mpc. The random uncertainty in the distance is dominated by the error on the assumed value for the ratio of total to selective absorption, R_V, in NGC 5128, and by the possible metallicity dependence of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation at V and I. This represents the first determination of a Cepheid distance to an early-type galaxy.