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A.J. Drake, K.H. Cook (LLNL), C. Alcock (UPENN), T.S. Axelrod (MSO/ANU), M. Geha (Lick), MACHO Collaboration
We present a new measurement of the proper motion of the Large Magellanic Cloud using MACHO project data. This measurement is based on nightly observations of approximately 30 QSOs and a thousand bright LMC stars spanning seven years. Our large QSO sample is a significant improvement over previous astrometric reference systems used in determining the LMC's proper motion. The QSOs in this sample were identified by their aperiodic light curves in the MACHO database and have been confirmed with spectroscopic follow-up. By determining the motions of the bright LMC stars relative to each of our QSOs, taking into account the effects of inclination and rotation, we determine the overall proper motion of the LMC.