New Study Reveals We Live Inside a Big Cosmic Bubble, a Vast and Mysterious Void – Teach Me About Science

When we think about the Earth and the Solar System we need to keep in mind that, in simple terms, they are located in space right in the center of a region known as the “local bubble”, which There is almost a huge cavity. The high-density, high-temperature plasma is 1000 light years in diameter surrounded by a layer of dust and gas and thousands of young stars.

In this regard, although for some people the presence of this superbubble that surrounds our solar system is something new, the reality is that it has been distinguished by astronomers since the 70s, however, as is the case with many space issues , there were many unresolved questions about this unique plasma cavity surrounded by thousands of young stars.

Regarding this, some of the main doubts that have been troubling the scientific community for years are about the actual size and extent of this cavity, as well as its origin and the time scale of its formation. Well, although these questions remained uncertain for a long time, a study was published in the prestigious journal Nature The local bubble has been studied in great detail and has provided answers to all these unknowns.

To achieve this, astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysics Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute studied this region in interstellar space with very advanced techniques and managed to obtain highly accurate models of the local bubble, thereby explaining its origin. It became possible to do and even build. A third-dimensional (3D) space-time animation.

Thus, according to the complex data analysis carried out, it was possible to estimate that everything indicates that the formation of this superbubble began about 14,000 million years ago with the explosion of several supernovae in its center, which caused it. The ejection of interstellar gas outward, thus promoting the formation and expansion of this large cavity that is the perfect medium for star formation on its surface.

“The expansion of the local bubble created by the supernova has transformed the ambient interstellar medium into an extended shell that has now fragmented and collapsed into more prominent molecular clouds nearby, in turn supporting the theory of supernova-driven star formation.” Provides strong observational support for. ,” the article specifies.

Currently, this giant formation that began forming 14,000 million years ago continues to expand to include seven molecular clouds where stars form, so this superbubble is active. It reads, “The oddly shaped bubble is not inactive and continues to grow slowly.” “It is traveling at about 6.5 kilometers per second, however, it has lost most of its thrust and has become practically stationary in terms of speed.”

To learn more about the study you can consult: Star formation near the Sun is driven by local bubble expansion