Cepheid and Long – Period Variables in Virgo Cluster Galaxies

Abstract We are currently undertaking a ground-based imaging survey which attempts to discover and determine periods for variable stars in Virgo Cluster galaxies. Such a survey is now feasible thanks to the high resolution imaging (FWHM ≤ 0.50 arcsec) routinely obtained with the High Resolution Camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The Virgo Cluster has long been considered a crucial “stepping-stone” in the extragalactic distance scale problem given that the cluster is at a “cosmologically interesting” distance and that there is little controversy in the relative distance between Virgo and more distant clusters, such as Coma. Consequently, much of the controversy regarding the extragalactic distance scale and the Hubble Constant can be eliminated with a determination of the Virgo Cluster distance. Some preliminary results and the prospects for establishing the distance to the Virgo Cluster using Cepheids and LPVs are discussed.