We have identified 82 short-period variable stars in Sextans A from deep WFPC2 observations .
All of the periodic variables appear to be short-period Cepheids , with periods as small as 0.8 days for fundamental-mode Cepheids and 0.5 days for first-overtone Cepheids .
These objects have been used , along with measurements of the RGB tip and red clump , to measure a true distance modulus to Sextans A of \mu _ { 0 } = 25.61 \pm 0.07 , corresponding to a distance of d = 1.32 \pm 0.04 Mpc .
Comparing distances calculated by these techniques , we find that short-period Cepheids ( P < 2 days ) are accurate distance indicators for objects at or below the metallicity of the SMC .
As these objects are quite numerous in low-metallicity star-forming galaxies , they have the potential for providing extremely precise distances throughout the Local Group .
We have also compared the relative distances produced by other distance indicators .
We conclude that calibrations of RR Lyraes , the RGB tip , and the red clump are self-consistent , but that there appears to be a small dependence of long-period Cepheid distances on metallicity .
Finally , we present relative distances of Sextans A , Leo A , IC 1613 , and the Magellanic Clouds .