The Local Bubble (sites.google.com)

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The discovery that the 1000-light-year-wide “Local Bubble” surrounding the Sun and Earth is responsible for the formation of all nearby, young stars was first presented in a paper published in Nature on January 12, 2022. Please use this page to find news, publications and talks, visuals (images, interactives, and videos), team info, and data. And, if we forgot something, just let us know—and we’ll try to include it in future updates!

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