The direct project: Catalogs of stellar objects in nearby galaxies. I. Thecentral part of M33

The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important gala xies in the cosmological distance ladder-M31 and M33-using detached eclipsi ng binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. The search for these variables requires ti me-series photometry of large areas of the target galaxies and yields magni tudes 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 th e project, between 1996 September and 1997 October, we were awarded 95 nigh ts on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 nights on the Mi chigan-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 catal ogs, lists the positions, three-color photometry, and variability indices o f 57,581 stars with 14.4 < V < 23.6 in the central part of M33. The catalog is available from our FTP site.