Interstellar Absorption Lines in the Direction of the Cataclysmic
  Variable SS Cygni
  We present an analysis of interstellar absorption lines in high-resolution
optical echelle spectra of SS Cyg obtained during an outburst in 2013 June and
in archival Hubble Space Telescope and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer
data. The Ca II K and Na I D lines toward SS Cyg are compared with those toward
nearby B and A stars in an effort to place constraints on the distance to SS
Cyg. We find that the distance constraints are not very robust from this method
due to the rather slow increase in neutral gas column density with distance and
the scatter in the column densities from one sight line to another. However,
the optical absorption-line measurements allow us to derive a precise estimate
for the line-of-sight reddening of E(B-V) = 0.020+/-0.005 mag. Furthermore, our
analysis of the absorption lines of O I, Si II, P II, and Fe II seen in the UV
spectra yields an estimate of the H I column density and depletion strength in
this direction.
