Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
Accurate measurements of the D/H ratio in our Galaxy provide critical tests of Galactic chemical evolution and constrain the primordial value of D/H. Very high quality ultraviolet spectra from the GHRS and STIS instruments on HST have been analyzed for lines of sight toward both early and late-type stars and hot white dwarfs. We will summarize the results that are being obtained for D/H along sightlines through the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) and other nearby warm clouds. All sightlines through the LIC are consistent with D/H = (1.53 ± 0.18) × 10−5. Whether or not significantly different values of D/H are present in other clouds within 100 pc of the Sun is not yet settled, but there is evidence that D/H is significantly lower in Orion (500 pc). We will describe the likely sources of systematic errors in determining D/H that must be understood and quantified when analyzing such ultraviolet spectra.