Science. 2000 Aug 18;289(5482):1149-50. doi: 10.1126/science.289.5482.1149.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite of the Milky Way, is an important yardstick by which most intergalactic distances are measured. But as Cole explains in this Perspective, how far away the LMC is remains a matter of dispute, with far reaching implications in cosmology. But observations of Cepheids and of eclipsing binaries, two types of stars that allow absolute luminosity and thus absolute distances to be determined, are promising to resolve this important issue in the not too distant future.
大麦哲伦云（LMC）是银河系的一个卫星星系，是测量大多数星系际距离的重要标准。但正如 Cole 在这篇观点文章中所解释的，LMC 的距离仍然存在争议，这对宇宙学有深远的影响。但是，对造父变星和食双星的观测，这两种可以确定绝对亮度从而确定绝对距离的恒星，有望在不久的将来解决这个重要问题。
