V - (V-I) distance to Lupus 2

Abstract

We report a possible distance to the star forming cloud Lupus 2 of 360 pc, at least 150 pc larger than previously suggested. Despite the cloud's small angular size and remoteness this distance estimate is corroborated by Hipparcos/Tycho data for field stars. The increased distance changes the mass estimate from 100 to ~ 600 cal M_sun more like the masses for the other Lupus clouds, but more interestingly the virial ratio of the two C¹⁸O cores in Lupus 2 will be lowered by a factor of 2.4 making Lupus 2 more like Taurus than the remaining Lupus cores Based on ESO observations, La Silla.