14 million years ago, a series of supernova eruptions in the Milky Way formed a localized giant bubble structure, currently at the center of the Sun bubble. A new study has now found that all young stars form on the surface of this bubble within 500 light-years of the Sun.

In recent decades, scientists have known that the Sun resides in a low-density local cosmic bubble surrounded by thousands of young stars, but do not know the exact size, shape, origin, or evolution of the bubble.

But according to a new study, a team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Space Telescope Science Institute have put together a collection of satellites, including the Gaya satellite, to separate the 3D positions of dense gas and light stars within 650 light-years. The accidental discovery that the Sun, shape, motion, and seven known star formation regions lie on the surface of the bubble leads to some new insights about the bubble.

Catherine Zucker, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, points out that 15 supernovae exploded one by one 14 million years ago, emitting interstellar gas millions of years ago, forming the local bubble-like structure we see today. The strange bubble is not dormant, but grows slowly at a speed of 6.4 kilometers per second.

Astronomers say we’re very lucky to be in a bubble, because when the first supernova erupted 14 million years ago, the Sun was far away from the event, but about 5 million years ago, the Sun’s orbit passed through the Milky Way. Directly through the bubble. , Now the Sun is almost at the center of the bubble, as it sits in the rock region, clearly observing the star formation process taking place on the surface of the bubble.

This map shows all the young stars and star-forming regions on the surface of a localized bubble within 500 light-years from Earth. (Source:Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

In addition, astronomy first proposed the theory that bubbles localized in the Milky Way were ubiquitous about 50 years ago. New research has provided statistics to support the theory that the Sun is unlikely to pass through a giant bubble if there are fewer local bubbles in the Milky Way.

In fact, the Milky Way is similar to Swiss cheese with holes, where the location of the hole comes from the eruption of a supernova, and new stars form around the hole (the surface of the bubble).

Next, the team hopes to draw a complete 3D view of the location, shape, and size of more interstellar bubbles to understand the role of dying stars in the formation of new stars and the evolution of the structure of the Milky Way. To confirm where these supernovae are coming from.

New paperPublished in the journal Nature.

(Source of the first image:NASA)