The Distance to M51

Abstract

Great investments of observing time have been dedicated to the study of nearby spiral galaxies with diverse goals ranging from understanding the star formation process to characterizing their dark matter distributions. Accurate distances are fundamental to interpreting observations of these galaxies, yet many of the best studied nearby galaxies have distances based on methods with relatively large uncertainties. We have started a program to derive accurate distances to these galaxies. Here we measure the distance to M51 - the Whirlpool galaxy - from newly obtained Hubble Space Telescope optical imaging using the tip of the red giant branch method. We measure the distance modulus to be 8.58+/-0.10 Mpc (statistical), corresponding to a distance modulus of 29.67+/-0.02 mag. Our distance is an improvement over previous results as we use a well-calibrated, stable distance indicator, precision photometry in a optimally selected field of view, and a Bayesian Maximum Likelihood technique that reduces measurement uncertainties.

10 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

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Cited by in corpus (63)

• Distances to PHANGS Galaxies: New Tip of the Red Giant Branch Measurements and Adopted Distances
• Discovery of a 2.8 s pulsar in a 2 d orbit High-Mass X-ray Binary powering the Ultraluminous X-ray source ULX-7 in M51
• X-ray Binary Luminosity Function Scaling Relations for Local Galaxies Based on Subgalactic Modeling
• Magnetic field strength of a neutron-star-powered ultraluminous X-ray source
• The faint end of the Centaurus A satellite luminosity function
• The electron-capture origin of supernova 2018zd
• ELVES I: Structures of Dwarf Satellites of MW-like Galaxies; Morphology, Scaling Relations, and Intrinsic Shapes
• The Extragalactic Distance Database: The Color-Magnitude Diagrams and Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances Catalog
• Wide-Field Survey of Dwarf Satellite Systems Around 10 Hosts in the Local Volume
• The Metallicity Dependence of the High-Mass X-ray Binary Luminosity Function
• The M101 group complex: new dwarf galaxy candidates and spatial structure
• The Hubble Space Telescope Survey of M31 Satellite Galaxies I. RR Lyrae-based Distances and Refined 3D Geometric Structure
• Dense gas is not enough: environmental variations in the star formation efficiency of dense molecular gas at 100pc scales in M51
• A Robust Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance to the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946)
• M51 ULX-7: super-orbital periodicity and constraints on the neutron star magnetic field
• The Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program. VII. The Distance to M101 via the Optical Tip of the Red Giant Branch Method
• DUSTiNGS III: Distribution of Intermediate-Age and Old Stellar Populations in Disks and Outer Extremities of Dwarf Galaxies
• The Leoncino Dwarf Galaxy: Exploring the Low-Metallicity End of the Luminosity-Metallicity and Mass-Metallcity Relations
• Using the Tip of the Red Giant Branch as a Distance Indicator in the Near Infrared
• Spectral modeling of type II supernovae II. A machine learning approach to quantitative spectroscopic analysis
• Swift monitoring of M51: A 38-day super-orbital period for the pulsar ULX7 and a new transient ULX
• On the Spatially Resolved Star Formation History in M51 I: Hybrid UV+IR Star Formation Laws and IR Emission from Dust Heated by Old Stars
• On the Spatially Resolved Star-Formation History in M51 II: X-ray Binary Population Evolution
• A Complete Census of Luminous Stellar Variability on Day to Decade Timescales
• Multiband counterparts of two eclipsing ultraluminous X-ray sources in M 51
• Discovery of an intermediate-luminosity red transient in M51 and its likely dust-obscured, infrared-variable progenitor
• Dissecting Nearby Galaxies with piXedfit: I. Spatially Resolved Properties of Stars, Dust, and Gas as Revealed by Panchromatic SED Fitting
• Nothing to see here: Failed supernovae are faint or rare
• The Progenitor Age and Mass of the Black-Hole-Formation Candidate N6946-BH1
• A CO isotopologue Line Atlas within the Whirlpool galaxy Survey (CLAWS)
• A SOFIA Survey of [CII] in the galaxy M51 I. [CII] as a tracer of Star Formation
• A long hard-X-ray look at the dual active galactic nuclei of M51 with NuSTAR
• An Exceptional Dimming Event for a Massive, Cool Supergiant in M51
• Linking soft excess in ultraluminous X-ray sources with optically thick wind driven by supercritical accretion
• HAWC+ Far-Infrared Observations of the Magnetic Field Geometry in M51 and NGC 891
• Discovery of a vast ionized gas cloud in the M51 system
• Reeling in the Whirlpool: the distance to M 51 clarified by Cepheids and the Type IIP SN 2005cs
• Instability analysis for spiral arms of local galaxies: M51, NGC3627 and NGC628
• Evolution of the spin, spectrum and super-orbital period of the ultraluminous X-ray pulsar M51 ULX7
• Surveying the Whirlpool at Arcseconds with NOEMA (SWAN)- I. Mapping the HCN and N${}_2$H${}^{+}$ 3mm lines
• Colour jumps across the spiral arms of Hubble Ultra Deep Field galaxies
• Hydrogen Radio Recombination Line Emission from M51 and NGC628
• AT 2019abn: multi-wavelength observations over the first 200 days
• Optical Identification and Spectroscopy of Supernova Remnants in the Galaxy M51
• Standardized Luminosity of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch utilizing Multiple Fields in NGC 4258 and the CATs Algorithm
• High sensitivity HI image of diffuse gas and new tidal features in M51 observed by FAST
• A SOFIA Survey of [CII] in the galaxy M51 II. [CII] and CO kinematics across spiral arms
• A study in scarlet -- I. Photometric properties of a sample of Intermediate Luminosity Red Transients
• A spatially resolved radio spectral study of the galaxy M 51
• Novae in M51: a New, Much Higher Rate from Multi-epoch HST Data
• Spectral Modeling of Charge Exchange in the Central Region of M51
• The resolved star formation history of M51a through successive Bayesian marginalization
• X-ray binaries in M51 I: catalog and statistics
• X-ray Spectroscopic Evidence of Charge Exchange Emission in the Disk of M51
• Deriving the intrinsic properties of M51 with radiative transfer models
• Halpha Nuclear Geyser (Bipolar Outflow) from the Barred Galaxy NGC 1415 (ESO 482-G033)
• Surveying the Whirlpool at Arcseconds with NOEMA (SWAN) II: Survey design and observations
• Estimating the dense gas mass of molecular clouds using spatially unresolved 3 mm line observations
• The young stellar clusters in M51 and the impact of GMC encounters
• The Exploration of Local VolumE Satellites (ELVES) Survey: A Nearly Volume-Limited Sample of Nearby Dwarf Satellite Systems
• Analysis of spatially resolved stellar populations and emission line properties in nearby galaxies with J-PLUS data. II-Results for the M51 group and first comparison with the M101 group
• Pa$\beta$, H$\alpha$, and Attenuation in NGC 5194 and NGC 6946
• The Dense Gas Mass Fraction and the Relationship to Star Formation in M51