| Abstract | Baade's method for distance determination is applied to Supernova 1987A. Flux minimum velocities of a number of spectral lines whose identifications are sufficiently well known are determined from the Bochum flux record and transformed into effective radii of maximum absorption. Blackbody temperatures, derived from the continuum flux maximum, and bolometric luminosities are combined to yield photospheric radii. By comparison of spectroscopic and photospheric radii, we derive the distance to SN 1987A, d = 52.3 +/- 1.5 kpc. Including corrections for the asphericity of the envelope and for flux dilution, the final value becomes d_corr_=49.4+/-4.1 kpc or m_0_-M=18.47+/-0.18 which is in excellent agreement with recent determinations of the LMC distance based on cepheids and RR Lyrae stars. |
