| Abstract | Deep photometry of unevolved main sequences for two clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud permits their distances to be directly measured by fits to (1) the semiempirical ZAMS of VandenBerg and Bridges, (1984), (2) Yale isochrone models, and (3) galactic open clusters (and specifically the Hyades). A conservative choice of the relevant reddening, helium abundance, and metallicity parameters leads us to propose a true LMC distance modulus of 18.2 + or - 0.2. The results, which in principle are more fundamental than any obtained from earlier methods, place the LMC closer by about 0.5 mag in modulus than the more traditional value, and furthermore suggest the necessity of a zero-point revision in the galactic Cepheid scale. Such a recalibration would propagate through the standard distance ladder and raise most estimates of the Hubble constant by a significant amount. |
