Distance Estimates to Five Bok Globules Using Gaia DR3 Parallaxes and Near-Infrared Photometry: Validation with 3D Dust Maps

Distance Estimates to Five Bok Globules Using Gaia DR3 Parallaxes and Near-Infrared Photometry: Validation with 3D Dust Maps | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Distance Estimates to Five Bok Globules Using Gaia DR3 Parallaxes and Near-Infrared Photometry: Validation with 3D Dust Maps Rajat Subhra Paul, Himadri Sekhar Das This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9107076/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate distances to small, opaque Bok globules are difficult to obtain due to their compact sizes and lack of embedded standard candles. We estimate distances to five globules---CB4, CB24, CB56, CB60, and CB188---using a near-infrared (NIR) extinction technique applied to 2MASS photometry, combined with stellar distances from \textit{Gaia} DR3 parallaxes. Extinction--distance profiles reveal distinct rises marking each cloud, yielding median distances of 766 pc (CB4), 354 pc (CB24), 483 pc (CB56), 1143 pc (CB60), and 926~pc (CB188). Weighted-mean values agree within 8.5%, confirming internal consistency. Independent validation with Bayestar19 3D dust maps supports the CB4 and CB188 results. These refined distances enable reliable determinations of cloud masses, densities, and star-formation efficiencies, including the first robust measurement for CB56 and a revised upward distance for CB188. Dark clouds Distance determination Extinction Near-infrared photometry Bok globules Gaia parallaxes Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 12 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9107076","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":616898196,"identity":"460f4349-3757-4a40-9905-206b4ead5daf","order_by":0,"name":"Rajat Subhra Paul","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karimganj College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rajat","middleName":"Subhra","lastName":"Paul","suffix":""},{"id":616898198,"identity":"1c4b23be-fbe0-4fb0-926d-ccc75ad7eab6","order_by":1,"name":"Himadri Sekhar Das","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Assam University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Himadri","middleName":"Sekhar","lastName":"Das","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-12 16:39:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9107076/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9107076/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106404720,"identity":"984e97b2-38c2-43ed-9ad8-64bfa939d9ba","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 09:16:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":669280,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptPaulDas2026v1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9107076/v1_covered_a57dbc78-b379-4a6c-b5a9-9f0cc16b3de8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Distance Estimates to Five Bok Globules Using Gaia DR3 Parallaxes and Near-Infrared Photometry: Validation with 3D Dust Maps","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"astrophysics-and-space-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"astr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Astrophysics and Space Science](https://www.springer.com/journal/10509)","snPcode":"10509","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10509/3","title":"Astrophysics and Space Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Dark clouds, Distance determination, Extinction, Near-infrared photometry, Bok globules, Gaia parallaxes","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9107076/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9107076/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Accurate distances to small, opaque Bok globules are difficult to obtain due to their compact sizes and lack of embedded standard candles. 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