PREDICTING GAIA’S PARALLAX DISTANCE TO THE CYGNUS OB2 ASSOCIATION WITH ECLIPSING BINARIES
- Dept. of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
The Cygnus OB2 Association is one of the nearest and largest collections of massive stars in the Galaxy. Situated at the heart of the “Cygnus X” complex of star-forming regions and molecular clouds, its distance has proven elusive owing to the ambiguous nature of kinematic distances along this ℓ ≃ 80° sightline and the heavy, patchy extinction. In an effort to refine the three-dimensional geometry of key Cygnus X constituents, we have measured distances to four eclipsing double-lined OB-type spectroscopic binaries that are probable members of Cyg OB2. We find distances of 1.33 ± 0.17, 1.32 ± 0.07, 1.44 ± 0.18, and 1.32 ± 0.13 kpc toward MT91 372, MT91 696, CPR2002 A36, and Schulte 3, respectively. We adopt a weighted average distance of 1.33 ± 0.06 kpc. This agrees well with spectrophotometric estimates for the Association as a whole and with parallax measurements of protostellar masers in the surrounding interstellar clouds, thereby linking the ongoing star formation in these clouds with Cyg OB2. We also identify Schulte 3C (O9.5V), a 4″ visual companion to the 4.75 day binary Schulte 3(A+B), as a previously unrecognized Association member.
- OSTI ID:
- 22525366
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 811, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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