Visualising the local solar neighbourhood in 3D
Date: 15 November 2015
Satellite: Hipparcos
Copyright: ESA. Acknowledgement: H. Bouy (CSIC-INTA) & J. Alves (U. Vienna)
Astronomers have used modern techniques to create a 3D visualisation of all of the Hipparcos O- and B-type stars within 500 parsecs (1630 light years) of the Sun. This new visualisation uncovers evidence for new structures in the distribution of these nearby hot stars, and new and surprising theories of how those stars formed.
The Sun is located at the centre of the circle on this artist's impression of the Milky Way.
The insert shows one view from the 3D visualisation tool developed by Hervé Bouy, Center for Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA), Spain, and João Alves, University of Vienna, Austria.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
