DISCOVERY OF THE HOST CLUSTER FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL CEPHEID CALIBRATOR ZETA GEMINORUM

New and existing CORAVEL, UBVJHK{sub s} , HST, HIP/Tycho, ARO, KPNO, and DAO observations imply that the fundamental Cepheid calibrator {zeta} Gem is a cluster member. The following parameters were inferred for {zeta} Gem from cluster membership and are tied to new spectral classifications (DAO) established for 26 nearby stars (e.g., HD53588/B7.5IV, HD54692/B9.5IV): E{sub B-V} = 0.02 {+-} 0.02, log {tau} = 7.85 {+-} 0.15, and d = 355 {+-} 15 pc. The mean distance to {zeta} Gem from cluster membership and six recent estimates (e.g., IRSB) is d=363{+-}9({sigma}{sub x}-bar ){+-}26 ({sigma}) pc. The results presented here support the color-excess and HST parallax derived for the Cepheid by Benedict et al. Forthcoming precise proper motions (DASCH) and Chandra/XMM-Newton observations of the broader field may be employed to identify cluster members, bolster the cluster's existence, and provide stronger constraints on the Cepheid's fundamental parameters.