- Orion Arm (Wikipedia)
The Orion Arm is a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy that is 3,500 light-years (1,100 parsecs) across and approximately 10,000 light-years (3,100 parsecs) in length, containing the Solar System, including Earth. It is also referred to by its full name, the Orion–Cygnus Arm (not to be confused with the outer end of the Norma Arm the Cygnus Arm), as well as Local Arm, Orion Bridge, and formerly, the Local Spur and Orion Spur.
- The Local Bubble, or Local Cavity, is a relative cavity in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way. It contains the closest of celestial neighbours and among others, the Local Interstellar Cloud (which contains the Solar System), the neighbouring G-Cloud, the Ursa Major moving group (the closest stellar moving group) and the Hyades (the nearest open cluster).
- G-Cloud (Wikipedia)
The Galactic (G) cloud or G cloud, also known as the G-Cloud (or G-Cloud complex) is an interstellar cloud located next to the Local Interstellar Cloud, within the Local Bubble. It is unknown whether the Solar System is embedded in the Local Interstellar Cloud or in the region where the two clouds are interacting, although the Solar System is currently moving towards the G-Cloud. The G-Cloud contains the stars Alpha Centauri (a triple star system that includes Proxima Centauri) and Altair (and possibly others).
- A Bubbly Origin for Stars around the Sun (youtube.com)
This video describes new research linking an interstellar void known as the Local Bubble to nearby star-forming regions. It begins by zooming into an artist’s rendering of the Milky Way to our own galactic neighborhood. Next, an animation beginning 14 million years ago steps through time to show how a series of supernovas created the Local Bubble. As the bubble expands, it sweeps up gas and dust that condense to form star clusters. The video then resets to 14 million years ago and steps forward again to show how the Sun’s path through the Milky Way galaxy brought it into the Local Bubble about 5 million years ago. Today, we’re coincidentally close to the middle of the bubble. Finally, the video pans around a 3D model of the Local Bubble and associated star-forming regions as they exist today. Video Credit: STScI