Description
The interstellar extinction is investigated in a 2x2deg area containing the dust and molecular clouds LDN 183 (MBM 37) and LDN 169, centered at RA=15h54m, DEC=-3{deg}. The study is based on photometric classification in spectral and luminosity classes of 782 stars selected from the catalogs of 1299 stars down to V=20mag observed in the Vilnius seven-color system. For control, the MK types for 18 brightest stars with V between 8.5 and 12.8mag were determined spectroscopically. For 14 stars, located closer than 200pc, distances were calculated from trigonometric parallaxes taken from the Gaia Data Release 1. For about 70% of the observed stars, two-dimensional spectral types, interstellar extinctions Av and distances were determined. Using 57 stars closer than 200pc we estimate that the front edge of the clouds begins at 105+/-8pc. The extinction layer in the vicinities of the clouds can be about 20pc thick. In the outer parts of the clouds and between the clouds the extinction is 2.0-2.5mag. Behind the Serpens/Libra clouds the extinction range does not increase; this means that the dust layer at 105pc is a single extinction source.
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