Abstract
In this paper, a general method is developed for the determination of cosmic
distances. The method is based on the assumption that the members of a cosmic group scatter around a mean
absolute magnitude in a Gaussian distribution. The basic formula of the method is obtained as a least-squares fit of the solution of a highly transcendental equation as a function of a given
apparent magnitude parameter
α. For each range of
α, the precision criteria of this formula, and also the absolute relative uncertainty in the derived distance, are very satisfactory. Some illustrative examples of the usages of the method are included.