Determination of the Hubble constant from observations of Cepheid variables in the galaxy M96

New Hubble Space Telescope observations of Cepheid variable stars in the nearby galaxy M96 give a distance to the host galaxy group, Leo I, of 11.6 ± 0.8 Mpc. This value, used in conjunction with several reliable secondary indicators of relative distance, constrains the distances to more remote galaxy clusters, and yields a value of the Hubble constant (H0 = 69 ± 8 km s−1 Mpc−1) that is independent of the velocity of the Leo I group itself.