The Infrared Distance Scale: The Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds

Abstract The advantages of using near-infrared photometry of Cepheids to determine distances to nearby galaxies are now well known. In this paper we summarize the current state of the infrared period-luminosity (P-L) relations for the Galaxy, the LMC, and the SMC and present composite P-L relations derived from all available photometry. We give distance moduli for the LMC and SMC based on these data and briefly report on the status of other work in progress.