Catalog of distances to molecular clouds

We present a large, homogeneous catalog of distances to molecular clouds, most of which are of unprecedented accuracy. We determine distances using optical photometry of stars along lines of sight toward these clouds, obtained from PanSTARRS-1.

We simultaneously infer the reddenings and distances to these stars, tracking the full probability distribution function using a technique presented in Green et al. (2014ApJ...783..114G). We fit these star-by-star measurements using a simple dust screen model to find the distance to each cloud. We thus estimate the distances to almost all of the clouds in the Magnani et al. (1985ApJ...295..402M, MBM) catalog, as well as many other well-studied clouds, including Orion, Perseus, Taurus, Cepheus, Polaris, California, and Monoceros R2, avoiding only the inner Galaxy.