HST opt. & H-band obs. of Cepheids in NGC4051

We identify 419 Cepheid candidates and estimate the distance at both optical and near-infrared wavelengths using subsamples of precisely photometered variables (123 and 47 in the optical and near-infrared subsamples, respectively).

We compare our independent photometric procedures and distance-estimation methods to those used by the Supernovae, H0, for the Equation of State team and find agreement to 0.01mag. The distance we obtain suggests an Eddington ratio of dm/dt~0.2 for NGC 4051, typical of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, unlike the seemingly odd value implied by previous distance estimates. We derive a peculiar velocity of -490+/-34km/s for NGC4051, consistent with the overall motion of the Ursa Major Cluster in which it resides.