TheRadcliffe wave is a neighbouring coherent gaseous structure in theMilky Way, dotted with a related high concentration of interconnectedstellar nurseries. It stretches about 8,800 light years.[1][2] This structure runs with the trajectory of theMilky Way arms.[3][4]
It lies at its closest (theTaurus Molecular Cloud) at around 400light-years and at its farthest about 5,000 light-years (theCygnus X star complex) from theSun, always within theLocal Arm (Orion Arm) itself, spanning about 40% of its length and on average 20% of its width.[5][4] Its discovery was announced in January 2020, and its proximity surprised astronomers.[1][6]
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Scientists do not know how the undulation of dust and gas formed. It has been suggested that it could be a result of a much smaller galaxycolliding with the Milky Way, leaving behind "ripples", or could be related todark matter.[1][7] Inside the dense clouds, gas can be so compressed that newstars are born.[2] It has been suggested that this may be where theSun originated.[1]
Many of the star-forming regions found in the Radcliffe wave were thought to be part of a similar-sized but somewhat helio-centric ring which contained theSolar System, the "Gould Belt". It is now understood the nearest discrete relative concentration of sparseinterstellar matter instead forms a massive wave.[1][2]
The wave was discovered by an international team of astronomers including Catherine Zucker and João Alves.[8][4] It was announced by co-authorAlyssa A. Goodman at the 235th meeting of theAmerican Astronomical Society, held at Honolulu[9] and published in the journalNature on 7 January 2020.[10] The discovery was made using data collected by theEuropean Space Agency'sGaia space observatory.[11]
The wave was invisible in2D, requiring new3D techniques of mapping interstellar matter to reveal its pattern using the softwareGlue.[2][11][9] The proximity of the wave surprised astronomers.[1][6] It is named after theRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study inCambridge, Massachusetts, the place of study of the team.[11]
The Radcliffe wave contains four of the fiveGould Belt clouds:
The cloud not within its scope is theRho Ophiuchi Cloud complex, part of a linear structure parallel to the Radcliffe wave.
Other structures in the wave, further from the local star system, areCanis Major OB1, theNorth America Nebula andCygnus X.[4]
The mass of this structure is on the scale ofM☉. It has a length of 8,800light-years (2,700parsecs) and an amplitude of 520light-years (160 parsecs). The Radcliffe wave occupies about 20% of the width and 40% of the length of thelocal arm (Orion Arm). The latter is more dispersed as to itsinterstellar medium than the wave and has further large star-forming regions such asMonoceros OB1,California Nebula, Cepheus Far, andRho Ophiuchi.[4]
A 2024 paper announced the discovery that the Radcliffe wave is oscillating in the form of atraveling wave.[12]
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