A TRIGONOMETRIC PARALLAX OF Sgr B2

We have measured the positions of H(2)O masers in Sgr B2, a massive star-forming region in the Galactic center, relative to an extragalactic radio source with the Very Long Baseline Array. The positions measured at 12 epochs over a time span of one year yield the trigonometric parallax of Sgr B2 and hence a distance to the Galactic center of R(0) = 7.9(-0.7)(+0.8) kpc. The proper motion of Sgr B2 relative to Sgr A* suggests that Sgr B2 is approximate to 0.13 kpc nearer than the Galactic center, assuming a low-eccentricity Galactic orbit.