The distance to the Vela supernova remnant

We have obtained high-resolution Ca II and Na I absorption-line spectra tow ard 68 OB stars in the direction of the Vela supernova remnant. The stars l ie at distances of 190-2800 pc as determined by Hipparcos and spectroscopic parallax estimations. The presence of high-velocity absorption attributabl e to the remnant along some of the sight lines constrains the remnant dista nce to 250 +/- 30 pc. This distance is consistent with several recent inves tigations that suggest that the canonical remnant distance of 500 pc is too large.