Gould Belt: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Ring of stars in the Milky Way galaxy}} |
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[[File:Galaxymap.com, map of the solar neighbourhood 800 parsecs (2020).jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|Mesh map of the inner Gould Belt created from [[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia observatory]] data]] |
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The '''Gould Belt''' is a local ring of stars in the [[Milky Way]], tilted away from the [[galactic plane]] by about 16–20 degrees, first reported by [[John Herschel]] and [[Benjamin Apthorp Gould|Benjamin Gould]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirk |first1=J. M. |display-authors=etal |date=21 June 2013 |title=First results from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey in Taurus |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/432/2/1424/1027470#91770027 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=432 |issue=2 |pages=1424–1433 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stt561 |access-date=28 January 2023|arxiv=1304.4098 }}</ref> It contains many [[OB star|O- and B-type stars]], and many of the nearest [[star-forming region]]s of the local [[Orion Arm]], to which the [[Sun]] belongs. The relative proximity of these star-forming regions spurred the [[Gould Belt Survey]] project to determine what caused them. |
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[[File:Rho_Ophiuchi.jpg |thumb|300px|The [[Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex|ρ Oph]] cloud complex is a star-forming region in the Gould Belt.]] |
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It was long speculated that the belt was a physical structure in the galactic disk, but data from the [[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia survey]] indicate that several of its star-forming regions belong instead to the separate [[Radcliffe wave]] and ''Split'' linear structures in the Orion Arm, and that the circular appearance of the belt results mostly from the projection of these structures onto the [[celestial sphere]].<ref name="Alves Zucker Goodman Speagle 2020">{{cite journal | last1=Alves | first1=João | last2=Zucker | first2=Catherine | last3=Goodman | first3=Alyssa A. | last4=Speagle | first4=Joshua S. | last5=Meingast | first5=Stefan | last6=Robitaille | first6=Thomas | last7=Finkbeiner | first7=Douglas P. | last8=Schlafly | first8=Edward F. | last9=Green | first9=Gregory M. | title=A Galactic-scale gas wave in the Solar Neighborhood | journal=Nature | date=23 January 2020 | volume=578 | issue=7794 | pages=237–239 | doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1874-z | pmid=31910431 | arxiv=2001.08748v1 | bibcode=2020Natur.578..237A | s2cid=256822920 }}</ref> |
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The '''Gould Belt''' is a local, partial ring of [[star]]s in the [[Milky Way]], about 3000 [[light years]] long, tilted toward/away from the [[galactic plane]] by about 16 to 20 degrees. It contains many [[OB star|O- and B-type stars]], amounting to the nearest [[star-forming region]]s of [[Orion Arm|the local]] [[spiral arm]], to which [[Sun|the Sun]] belongs. It has been largely superseded in definition by the [[Radcliffe Wave]]. The Sun is closest to the [[Orion (constellation)]] part of its recent star-created sub-belt of the many times longer Orion Arm. This means the solar system is about 325 [[light year]]s away, though about 100 light years further to the more extensive Radcliffe Wave, stars, dust and gas in the [[Taurus Molecular Cloud]] (which is the nearest large star formation region). |
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The belt contains bright, young stars which formed about 30 to 50 million years ago in several constellations.<ref>{{cite book |
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The Belt, as formed, and traditionally defined, runs for much less than one tenth of the extent of the local circumference of the galaxy, meaning in [[galactic coordinates]] it spans a narrow range of [[galactic longitude]]s. The coalescence and/or inception of new stars which cluster within it, nearby, are dated to about 30 to 50 million years ago. Beyond suspected prior [[nebulosity]] of many of the younger stars, and the relative concentration of gas mentioned in the Radcliffe Wave, the factors that have led to the Gould Belt's unbroken nature and concentration are far from fully understood – [[dark matter]] has in some leading literature been posited as causatory, in [[astrophysics]], as somehow intrisic to the high density of recent stellar formation seen. It is named after [[Benjamin Apthorp Gould|Benjamin Gould]], who identified it in 1879.<ref>{{cite book |
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| editor = Sir Patrick Moore |
| editor = Sir Patrick Moore |
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| editor-link = Patrick Moore |
| editor-link = Patrick Moore |
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| title = Astronomy Encyclopædia |
| title = Astronomy Encyclopædia |
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| orig-year = 1987 |
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| edition = Revised |
| edition = Revised |
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| date=2002 |
| date=2002 |
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| url = http://www.rssd.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/GAIA_files/LATEX2HTML/node29.html |
| url = http://www.rssd.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/GAIA_files/LATEX2HTML/node29.html |
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| title = The Gould Belt |
| title = The Gould Belt |
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| access-date = 2006-07-18 |
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| work = The GAIA Study Report |
| work = The GAIA Study Report |
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| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030804044603/http://www.rssd.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/GAIA_files/LATEX2HTML/node29.html |
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030804044603/http://www.rssd.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/GAIA_files/LATEX2HTML/node29.html |
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| archive-date = 2003-08-04 |
| archive-date = 2003-08-04 |
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| url-status = dead |
| url-status = dead |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite |
}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |
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| url = http://daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/GouldBelt.html |
| url = http://daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/GouldBelt.html |
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| title = Gould Belt |
| title = Gould Belt |
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| access-date = 2006-07-18 |
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| encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology Astronomy and Spaceflight |
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}}</ref> These lie along a [[great circle]] slightly inclined to the Milky Way. including (in order from Taurus): [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]], [[Perseus (constellation)|Perseus]], [[Cepheus (constellation)|Cepheus]], [[Lacerta]], [[Scorpius]], [[Lupus (constellation)|Lupus]], southern [[Centaurus]], [[Crux (constellation)|Crux]] (the Southern Cross), [[Carina (constellation)|Carina]], [[Vela (constellation)|Vela]], [[Puppis]], [[Canis Major]], and [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]]. |
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}}</ref> |
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The belt contains bright, young stars in many constellations. These are, in order, going south-west then north-west (after Crux): |
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*[[Perseus (constellation)|Perseus]], then [[Cepheus (constellation)|Cepheus]]-[[Lacerta]] adjacent parts – break for constellations including Sagitta with the galactic bar/bulge/center – then [[Scorpius]], [[Lupus (constellation)|Lupus]], southern [[Centaurus]], [[Crux (constellation)|Crux]] (the Southern Cross). This part thus includes the [[Scorpius-Centaurus Association]]; then |
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*[[Carina (constellation)|Carina]]-[[Vela (constellation)|Vela]]-[[Puppis]] adjacent parts, [[Canis Major]], [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]], which spans the celestial equator, and leaves a brief, fewer young-stars part of the outer Milky Way plane leading back to Perseus. |
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The dense plane of the Milky Way, looking slightly and fully tangentially, and then outward, makes luminosity and dust in forming the central axis for its course, though stays in Scorpius, not passing noticeably into Lupus and stays to one side of Orion, for instance. The belt thus meanders slightly east and west of its main course, corresponding with its tilt to, or maximal deviation from, the visible, star-rich galactic plane. |
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| ⚫ | [[Star-forming region]]s and [[Stellar kinematics#OB associations|OB associations]] that make up this region include the [[Orion Nebula]] and the Orion molecular clouds, the [[Scorpius–Centaurus association|Scorpius–Centaurus OB association]], Cepheus OB2, Perseus OB2, and the [[Taurus molecular cloud|Taurus–Auriga molecular clouds]]. The Serpens molecular cloud containing star-forming regions [[Westerhout 40|W40]] and [[Serpens south]] is often included in Gould Belt surveys, but is not formally part of the Gould Belt due to its greater distance. |
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== Overview == |
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| ⚫ | [[Star-forming region]]s and [[Stellar kinematics#OB associations|OB associations]] that make up this region include the [[Orion Nebula]] and the Orion molecular clouds, the [[Scorpius–Centaurus |
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A theory proposed around 2009 suggests that the Gould Belt formed about 30 million years ago when a blob of [[dark matter]] collided with the [[molecular cloud]] in our region. There is also evidence for similar Gould belts in other galaxies.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427350.900-orions-dark-secret-violence-shaped-the-night-sky.html?full=true "Orion's dark secret: Violence shaped the night sky"], [[New Scientist]], 21 Nov. 2009, pp. 42–5.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Kenji |last=Bekki |title=Dark impact and galactic star formation: origin of the Gould belt |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122516341/abstract |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208212553/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122516341/abstract |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-12-08 |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters]] |volume=398 |issue=1 |pages=L36–L40 |date=2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00702.x|bibcode = 2009MNRAS.398L..36B |arxiv = 0906.5117 }}</ref> |
A theory proposed around 2009 suggests that the Gould Belt formed about 30 million years ago when a blob of [[dark matter]] collided with the [[molecular cloud]] in our region. There is also evidence for similar Gould belts in other galaxies.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427350.900-orions-dark-secret-violence-shaped-the-night-sky.html?full=true "Orion's dark secret: Violence shaped the night sky"], [[New Scientist]], 21 Nov. 2009, pp. 42–5.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Kenji |last=Bekki |title=Dark impact and galactic star formation: origin of the Gould belt |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122516341/abstract |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208212553/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122516341/abstract |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-12-08 |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters]] |volume=398 |issue=1 |pages=L36–L40 |date=2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00702.x|bibcode = 2009MNRAS.398L..36B |arxiv = 0906.5117 |s2cid=16173683 }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{div col|colwidth=30em}} |
{{div col|colwidth=30em}} |
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* {{annotated link|Gould Belt Survey}} |
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* {{annotated link|Local Bubble}} |
* {{annotated link|Local Bubble}} |
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* {{annotated link|Local Interstellar Cloud}} |
* {{annotated link|Local Interstellar Cloud}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Commons category}} |
{{Commons category}} |
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*[http://www.astronoo.com/en/gould-belt.html Gould Belt - Astronoo] |
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*[http://galaxymap.org/detail_maps/gould.html Map of the Gould Belt] |
*[http://galaxymap.org/detail_maps/gould.html Map of the Gould Belt] |
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*[http://www.eso.org/~fcomeron/gb/Perrot.pdf 3D evolution of the Gould Belt] |
*[http://www.eso.org/~fcomeron/gb/Perrot.pdf 3D evolution of the Gould Belt] |
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Latest revision as of 19:13, 5 January 2024
The Gould Belt is a local ring of stars in the Milky Way, tilted away from the galactic plane by about 16–20 degrees, first reported by John Herschel and Benjamin Gould in the 19th century.[1] It contains many O- and B-type stars, and many of the nearest star-forming regions of the local Orion Arm, to which the Sun belongs. The relative proximity of these star-forming regions spurred the Gould Belt Survey project to determine what caused them.
It was long speculated that the belt was a physical structure in the galactic disk, but data from the Gaia survey indicate that several of its star-forming regions belong instead to the separate Radcliffe wave and Split linear structures in the Orion Arm, and that the circular appearance of the belt results mostly from the projection of these structures onto the celestial sphere.[2]
The belt contains bright, young stars which formed about 30 to 50 million years ago in several constellations.[3][4][5] These lie along a great circle slightly inclined to the Milky Way. including (in order from Taurus): Taurus, Perseus, Cepheus, Lacerta, Scorpius, Lupus, southern Centaurus, Crux (the Southern Cross), Carina, Vela, Puppis, Canis Major, and Orion.
Star-forming regions and OB associations that make up this region include the Orion Nebula and the Orion molecular clouds, the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association, Cepheus OB2, Perseus OB2, and the Taurus–Auriga molecular clouds. The Serpens molecular cloud containing star-forming regions W40 and Serpens south is often included in Gould Belt surveys, but is not formally part of the Gould Belt due to its greater distance.
A theory proposed around 2009 suggests that the Gould Belt formed about 30 million years ago when a blob of dark matter collided with the molecular cloud in our region. There is also evidence for similar Gould belts in other galaxies.[6][7]
See also[edit]
- Local Bubble – Cavity in the interstellar medium which contains the Local Interstellar Cloud
- Local Interstellar Cloud – Interstellar cloud in the Milky Way Galaxy
- Orion Arm – Minor spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy; contains the Solar System
- Perseus Arm – One of two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy
- Radcliffe wave
References[edit]
- ^ Kirk, J. M.; et al. (21 June 2013). "First results from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey in Taurus". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 432 (2): 1424–1433. arXiv:1304.4098. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt561. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ Alves, João; Zucker, Catherine; Goodman, Alyssa A.; Speagle, Joshua S.; Meingast, Stefan; Robitaille, Thomas; Finkbeiner, Douglas P.; Schlafly, Edward F.; Green, Gregory M. (23 January 2020). "A Galactic-scale gas wave in the Solar Neighborhood". Nature. 578 (7794): 237–239. arXiv:2001.08748v1. Bibcode:2020Natur.578..237A. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1874-z. PMID 31910431. S2CID 256822920.
- ^ Sir Patrick Moore, ed. (2002) [1987]. Astronomy Encyclopædia (Revised ed.). Great Britain: Philip's. p. 164.
- ^ "The Gould Belt". The GAIA Study Report. Archived from the original on 2003-08-04. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
- ^ "Gould Belt". The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology Astronomy and Spaceflight. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
- ^ "Orion's dark secret: Violence shaped the night sky", New Scientist, 21 Nov. 2009, pp. 42–5.
- ^ Bekki, Kenji (2009). "Dark impact and galactic star formation: origin of the Gould belt". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 398 (1): L36–L40. arXiv:0906.5117. Bibcode:2009MNRAS.398L..36B. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00702.x. S2CID 16173683. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gould Belt.
| Included | Earth → Solar System → Local Interstellar Cloud → Local Bubble → Gould Belt → Orion Arm → Milky Way → Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Local Sheet → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster → Local Hole → Observable universe → Universe Each arrow (→) may be read as "within" or "part of". |
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| Related | |
