THE CA+ ABUNDANCE OF HVC COMPLEX-C

We report the first detection of Ca II H and K absorption in the high- velocity cloud complex C, tile largest HVC. Absorption is detected in tile spectra of the quasar PG 1351+640 and of the Seyfert galaxy Mark 290, at velocities of -163 and -137 km/s (set: Fig. 2). The implied Ca + abundances are about 2 x 10(-8), or about 0.01 times the? total sola r Calcium abundance. This value lies near the middle of the range of v alues found for other HVCs. The measured abundance will allow firm con clusions about the distance of complex C from the presence or absence of its absorption in stellar spectra.