A new method of determining distances to dark globules. The distance to B 335

We observed a test globule, B 335 in U, B, g, r, and I, and together with the 2MASS survey, this data set gives a well-defined spectral energy distribution (SED) of a large number of stars. The SED of each star depends on the interstellar extinction, the distance to the star, and its intrinsic SED. The method is based on the use of stellar atmospheric models to represent the intrinsic SEDs of the stars. Formally, it is then possible to determine the spectral class of each star and thereby its distance. For some of the stars we have optical spectra, allowing us to compare the photometric classification to the spectrometric. We can identify one star at the front side of the globule. It has a photometric distance of 90 pc. The closest star behind the B 335 globule has a distance of only \approx 120 pc and we therefore determine the distance to B 335 as 90-120 pc. Our deep U image shows a relatively bright south-western rim of the globule, and we investigate whether it might be due to a local enhancement of the radiation field. A candidate source, located 1.5 arcminutes outside our field, would be the field star, HD 184982. This star has an entry in the Hipparcos Catalogue and its distance is 140-200 pc. However, we come to the conclusion that the bright SW rim is more likely due to the wing of the point-spread-function (PSF) of this star.