Variable Star Monitoring in Local Group Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

Dwarf galaxies in the local group provide a unique astrophysical laboratory. Despite their proximity some of these systems still lack a reliable distance determination as well as studies of their stellar content and star formation history. We present first results of our survey of variable stars in a sample of six local group dwarf irregular galaxies. Taking the Leo A dwarf galaxy as an example we describe observational strategies and data reduction. We discuss the lightcurves of two newly found \delta Cephei stars and place them into the context of a previously derived P-L relation. Finally we discuss the LPV content of Leo A.