Testing Extinction Distances to Massive Star-Forming Regions Against Maser Parallax Distances
Abstract
Accurate distances to massive star-forming regions are critical for converting observed values into physical quantities. Recent parallax measurements of masers within massive star-forming regions have established a reliable set of distances to a number of clouds in the first quadrant, ranging from 1 to 6 kpc. Unfortunately, maser parallax measurements are difficult to make and only possible in regions which exhibit bright masers. We report on a study using these distances to validate and calibrate two different near-infrared extinction distance methods which combine a galactic model with UKIDSS/GPS and 2MASS data. One method uses star counts of blue foreground stars, and the other uses red giant stars as standard candles. We also compare the parallax and extinction distances to kinematic distances using a variety of rotation curves. Support for this project provided by a grant from NASA.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #218
- Pub Date:
- May 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AAS...21812903F