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The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder - M31 and M33 - using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. We present the results of the first large-scale CCD-based search for variables in M33. We have observed two fields located in the central region of M33 for a total of 95 nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2-m telescope and 36 nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3-m telescope. We have found a total of 544 variables, including 251 Cepheids and 47 eclipsing binaries. The catalog of variables is available online, along with finding charts and BVI light curve data (consisting of 8.2x10^4 individual measurements). The complete set of CCD frames is available upon request., Comment: A copy of the paper with full-resolution figures can be retrieved from ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/var_catalog/M33AB/ms.ps.gz . To appear in the February 2001 issue of the Astronomical Journal

The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. The search for these variables requires time-series photometry of large areas of the target galaxies and yields magnitudes and positions for tens of thousands of stellar objects, which may be of use to the astronomical community at large. During the first phase of the project, between September 1996 and October 1997, we were awarded 95 nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. This paper, the first in our series of stellar catalogs, lists the positions, three-color photometry, and variability indices of 57,581 stars with 14.4 < V < 23.6 in the central part of M33. The catalog is available from our FTP site at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/star_catalog/M33ABC/, Comment: A copy of the paper with full-resolution embedded figures can be retrieved from ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/star_catalog/M33ABC/paper.ps.gz . To appear in the February 2001 issue of the Astronomical Journal. v3: Replaced Table 2 with correct version. Included figures inside manuscript

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and October 1997 we obtained 95 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, fifth in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars found in the field M31F $[(\alpha,\delta)= (10.\arcdeg10, 40.\arcdeg72), J2000.0]$. We have found 64 variable stars: 4 eclipsing binaries, 52 Cepheids and 8 other periodic, possible long period or non-periodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web. The complete set of the CCD frames is available upon request., Comment: submitted to the Astronomical Journal, 31 pages, 18 figures; paper and data available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and October 1997 we obtained 95 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, fourth in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31D $[(\alpha,\delta)= (11.\arcdeg03, 41.\arcdeg27), J2000.0]$. We have found 71 variable stars: 5 eclipsing binaries, 38 Cepheids and 28 other periodic, possible long period or non-periodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web. The complete set of the CCD frames is available upon request., Comment: submitted to the Astronomical Journal, 30 pages, 20 figures; paper and data available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and October 1997 we obtained 95 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, third in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31C [(alpha,delta)=(11.10, 41.42) deg, J2000.0}]. We have found 115 variable stars: 12 eclipsing binaries, 35 Cepheids and 68 other periodic, possible long period or non-periodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web. The complete set of the CCD frames is available upon request., Comment: submitted to the Astronomical Journal, 39 pages, 27 figures; paper and data available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/

We have used the data from the DIRECT project to search for new globular cluster candidates in the M31 and M33 galaxies. We have found 67 new objects in M31 and 35 in M33 and confirmed 38 and 16 previously discovered ones. A $VI$ and $BVI$ photometry has been obtained for all the clusters in M31 and M33 respectively. Luminosity functions have been constructed for the clusters in each galaxy and compared with that of the Milky Way., Comment: submitted to Acta Astronomica, 27 pages, 15 figures; paper and all 29 figures, including finding charts, are available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/Globulars/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33, using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, detached eclipsing binaries provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The massive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with the light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step of the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and January 1997 we have obtained 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT (MDM) 1.3-meter telescope and 45 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory (FLWO) 1.2-meter telescope to search for detached eclipsing binaries and new Cepheids in the M31 and the M33 galaxies. In this paper, second in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31A ($\alpha_{2000.0},\delta_{2000}=11.34\deg,41.73\deg$). We have found 75 variable stars: 15 eclipsing binaries, 43 Cepheids and 17 other periodic, possible long period or non-periodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, are available using the anonymous ftp service and the WWW. The CCD frames are available on request., Comment: submitted to the Astronomical Journal, 29 pages, 18 figures; paper and data available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/papers/M31A/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/

We report the discovery of eleven beat Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud, using data obtained by the EROS microlensing survey. Four stars are beating in the fundamental and first overtone mode (F/1OT), seven are beating in the first and second overtone (1OT/2OT). The SMC F/1OT ratio is systematically higher than the LMC F/1OT, while the 1OT/2OT period ratio in the SMC Cepheids is the same as the LMC one., Comment: 4 pages, Latex file with 4 .ps figures. accepted for publication in A A Letters

We report the discovery of near-sinusoidal radial velocity variations of the G0V star rhoCrB, with period 39.6 days and amplitude 67 m/s. These variations are consistent with the existence of an orbital companion in a circular orbit. Adopting a mass of 1.0 M(Sun) for the primary, the companion has minimum mass about 1.1 Jupiter masses, and orbital radius about 0.23 AU. Such an orbital radius is too large for tidal circularization of an initially eccentric orbit during the lifetime of the star, and hence we suggest that the low eccentricity is primordial, as would be expected for a planet formed in a dissipative circumstellar disk., Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, accepted in Astrophys. J. Letters

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33, using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, detached eclipsing binaries provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The massive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step of the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and January 1997 we have obtained 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT (MDM) 1.3-meter telescope and 45 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory (FLWO) 1.2-meter telescope to search for detached eclipsing binaries and new Cepheids in the M31 and the M33 galaxies. In this paper, first in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31B ($\alpha_{2000.0},\delta_{2000}=11.20\deg,41.59\deg$). We have found 85 variable stars: 12 eclipsing binaries, 38 Cepheids and 35 other periodic, possible long period or non-periodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, are available using the anonymous ftp service and the WWW., Comment: revised version re-submitted to the Astronomical Journal, 42 pages, 27 figures; paper and data available at ftp://cfa0.harvard.edu/pub/kstanek/DIRECT/papers/M31B/ and through WWW at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/