The Zero Point of Extinction toward Baade's Window from K Giants

Abstract
We measure the zero point of the Stanek extinction map by comparing the observed (V - K) colors of 206 K giant stars with their intrinsic (V - K)0 colors as derived from their Hβ indices. We find that the zero point of the Stanek map should be changed by ΔAV = -0.10 ± 0.06 mag, obtaining as a bonus a threefold reduction of the previous statistical error. The most direct way to test for systematic errors in this determination would be to conduct a parallel measurement based on the (V - K) colors of type ab RR Lyrae stars.
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