Abstract
THE distances of 26 and 23 kiloparsecs derived by Shapley1 for the two Magellanic Clouds depend upon assuming the same absolute magnitudes for the Cepheid variables in the Clouds and in our own galaxy. The absolute magnitudes of the galactic Cepheids are still subject to considerable uncertainties, and it would be more satisfactory to use as distance-indicators the RR Lyræ variables (with periods less than 1 day) the absolute magnitudes of which are known more accurately and which are found in great abundance in our own galaxy. Very few such variables, however, have been found in the Small Cloud2, and none so far has been reported in the Large Cloud.
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References
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Shapley, H., Sky and Telescope, 12, 45 (1952).
Thackeray, A. D., Observatory, 70, 144 (1950).
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THACKERAY, A., WESSELINK, A. Distances of the Magellanic Clouds. Nature 171, 693 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/171693a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/171693a0
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