The distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud from eclipsing binaries

A preliminary distance etimate to SMC 108.1.14904, a long-period eclipsing binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud, is presented. The binary system contains two bright, non-active G-type giants. Its orbital period is 185 days and the orbit is circular. Using surface brightness calibration, we obtain a distance modulus to the system of (m-M)= 19.02 +/- 0.04 (statistical) +/- 0.05 (systematic) mag, where the systematic error is dominated by uncertainties in the surface brightness calibration. This is a second eclipsing binary in the SMC analysed by our team.