2024/06/10 by Cameren Swiggum, J. Alves, João Alves +14 · 3 voices · 21 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxy #Interstellar medium #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #Physics #Star (game theory) #Star cluster #Star formation #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07496-9
published in Nature 631(8019), 49-53 (Nature Portfolio)
openalex publication_date 2024/06/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Efforts to unveil the structure of the local interstellar medium and its recent star formation history have spanned the past seventy years. Recent studies utilizing precise data from space astrometry missions have revealed nearby, newly formed star clusters with connected origins. Nonetheless, mapping young clusters across the entire sky back to their natal regions has been hindered by a lack of clusters with precise radial velocity data. Here we show that 155 out of 272 (57 percent) high-quality young clusters within one kiloparsec of the Sun arise from three distinct spatial volumes. This conclusion is based upon the analysis of data from the third Gaia release and other large-scale spectroscopic surveys. Currently dispersed throughout the Solar Neighborhood, their past positions over 30 Myr ago reveal that these families of clusters each formed in one of three compact, massive star-forming complexes. One of these families includes all of the young clusters near the Sun -- the Taurus and Sco-Cen star-forming complexes. We estimate that over 200 supernovae were produced from these families and argue that these clustered supernovae produced both the Local Bubble and the largest nearby supershell GSH 238+00+09, both of which are clearly visible in modern three-dimensional dust maps.