The Distance to the Magellanic Clouds

Bohdan Paczynski

Published 2001-04-10, updated 2001-07-24Version 2

The distance to LMC and SMC is a subject of controversy, with the difference between the extreme values in distance moduli exceeding 0.5 mag. While currently the best calibrated method is based on red clump giants, and the near future improvement is most likely to come from detached eclipsing binaries, the ultimate goal is to have a purely geometrical determination. The best prospect will be to use relatively wide binary stars, for which spectroscopic orbits will be obtained with large ground based telescopes, and astrometric orbits will be obtained either with SIM, or with future ground based interferometers. A preliminary list of 25 candidate systems is presented. It is based on OGLE catalogs of BVI photometry.