Skip to main content
Log in

The Local Interstellar Medium in the Direction of the Galactic Anticentre

  • Published:
Astrophysics and Space Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

High resolution observations of interstellar Na Iabsorptions in the spectra of early-type stars in the second Galacticquadrant have been used to derive the spatial distribution of thenearby interstellar gas in the Galactic anticentre hemisphere. The datashow the presence, within the region explored and within the nearest150 pc, of eight diffuse interstellar clouds with LSR velocities in therange 15–55 km s-1. Molecular gas previously identified close tothe Sun by Trapero et al. (1995) and Trapero et al. (1996) is embeddedin one of the clouds. The motion of these clouds does not reflect anymotion of the gas away from the Scorpio-Centaurus association, showingthat the kinematics observed in the neighbourhood of the Sun byLallement and Bertin (1992) is restricted, in the second Galactic quadrant,to the nearest ∼ 50 pc.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, T.F. and Frisch, P.C.: 1977, High-resolution observations of the Lyman alpha sky background, Astrophys. J. 212, 300-308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berghöfer, T.W., Bowyer, S., Lieu, R. and Knude, J.: 1998, The Thermal Pressure of the Interstellar Medium Derived from Cloud Shadows in the Extreme Ultraviolet, in: D. Breitschwerdt, M.J. Freyberg and J. Truemper (eds.), The Local Bubble and Beyond. Lyman-Spitzer Colloquium, Proceedings of the IAU Colluquium No. 166. Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol. 506, pp. 61-64, Garching, Germany, April 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, D.L., de Avillez, M.A. and Kahn, F.D.: 1998, Cloud formation in a galactic fountain resulting from Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, in: D. Breitschwerdt, M.J. Freyberg and J. Truemper (eds.), The Local Bubble and Beyond. Lyman-Spitzer Colloquium, Proceedings of the IAU Colluquium No. 166. Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol. 506, pp. 499-502, Garching, Germany, April 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertaux, J.L. and Blamont, J.E.: 1971, Evidence for a source of an extraterrestrial hydrogen Lyman-alpha emission, Astron. Astrophys. 11, 200-217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowyer, C.S., Field, G.B. and Mack, J.E.: 1968, Detection of an anysotropic soft X-ray background flux, Nature 217, 32-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breitschwerdt, D., Egger, R., Freyberg,M., Frisch, P. and Vallerga, J.: 1996, The Local Bubble Origin and Evolution, Space Sci. Rev. 78, 183-198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, J.T., Bowyer, S., Fahr, H.J. and Lay, G.: 1984, IUE high resolution spectrophotometry of H Ly alpha emission from the local interstellar medium, Astron. Astrophys. 139, 389-393.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, D.P. and Anderson, P.R.: 1982, Extended adiabatic blast waves and a model of the soft X-ray background, Astrophys. J. 253, 268-289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, D.P. and Reynolds, R.J.: 1987, The Local Interstellar Medium, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 25, 303-344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, D.P. and Snoden, S.L.: 1986, Perspective on the local interstellar medium, Adv. Space Res. 6, 97-107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, I.A.: 1991, High resolution observations of interstellar Na I and Ca II towards the Scorpio-Centaurus association, Astron. Astrophys. 247, 183-201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutcher, R.M.: 1982, The Local Interstellar Medium, Astrophys. J. 254, 82-87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davelaar, J., Bleeker, J.A.M. and Deerenberg, A.J.M.: 1980, X-ray characteristics of Loop I and the local interstellar medium, Astron. Astrophys. 92, 231-237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupin, O. and Gry, C.: 1998, Diffuse ionized gas toward β Canis Majoris, Astron. Astrophys. 335, 661-672.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupin, O., Gry, C., Ferlet, R., Lemoine, M. and Vidal-Madjar, A.: 1996, Proprietes des nuages diffus dans la bulle locale, Journal des Astronomes Français 50, 26-27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggen, R.: 1998, Interaction of the Local Bubble with its environment, in: D. Breitschwerdt, M.J. Freyberg and J. Truemper (eds.), The Local Bubble and Beyond. Lyman-Spitzer Colloquium, Proceedings of the IAU Colluquium No. 166. Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol. 506, pp. 287-296, Garching, Germany, April 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Génova, R., Molaro, P., Vladilo, G. and Beckman, J.E.: 1990, Mg II observed in the Local Interstellar Medium: the Local Cloud, Astrophys. J. 355, 150-158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Génova, R., Beckman, J.E., Bowyer, S. and Spicer, T.: 1997, Kinematical structure of the local interstellar medium: the Galactic center hemisphere, Astrophys. J. 484, 761-778.

    Google Scholar 

  • Génova, R. and Beckman, J.E.: 2000, Kinematical structure of the local interstellar medium: the Galactic anti-center hemisphere, Astrophys. J., submitted.

  • Gry, C., York, D.G. and Vidal-Madjar, A.: 1985, The exceptionally vacant line of sight to Canis Majoris, Astrophys. J. 296, 593-599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gry, C., Lemonon, L., Vidal-Madjar, A., Lemoine, M. and Ferlet, R.: 1995, The interstellar void in the direction to CMa: local clouds and hot gas, Astron. Astrophys. 302, 497-508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayakawa, S., Kato, T., Nagase, F., Yamashita, K. and Tanaka, Y.: 1978, Distribution and energy spectrum of diffuse soft X-rays, Astron. Astrophys. 62, 21-28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayakawa, S., Kato, T., Nagase, F., Yamashita, K. and Tanaka, Y.: 1979, X-ray features of Radio Loop I, Publ. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 31, 71-86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, L.M., Blitz, L. and Magnani, L.: 1986, A molecular cloud in the local, hot interstellar medium, Astrophys. J. 306, L109-L113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Innes, D.E. and Hartquist, T.W.: 1984, Are we in an old superbubble?, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 209, 7-13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lallement, R., Bertaux, J.L., Kurt, V.G. and Mironova, E.N.: 1984, Observed perturbations of the velocity distribution of interstellar hydrogen atoms in the solar system with Prognoz Lyman-alpha measurements, Astron. Astrophy. 140, 243-250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lallement, R. and Bertin, P.: 1992, Northern-hemisphere observations of nearby interstellar gas: possible detection of the local cloud, Astron. Astrophys. 266, 479-485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lallement, R., Vidal-Madjar, A. and Ferlet, R.: 1986, Multi-component velocity structure of the local interstellar medium, Astron. Astrophys. 168, 225-236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linsky, J.L., Diplas, A., Wood, B.E., Brown, A., Ayres, T.R. and Savage, B.D.: 1995, Deuterium and the local interstellar medium: properties for the Procyon and Capella lines of sight, Astrophys. J. 451, 335-351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linsky, J.L. and Redfield, S.: 1999, The Three-Dimensional Structure of the Warm Local Interstellar Medium II: The Colorado Model of the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), Am. Astron. Soc. Meeting 194, #47.15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, F.J. and Clark, B.W.: 1984, SAS 3 survey of the soft X-ray background, Astrophys. J. 287, 633-652.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCammon, D., Burrows, D.N., Sanders, W.T. and Kraushaar, W.L.: 1983, The soft X-ray diffuse background, Astrophys. J. 269, 107-135.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee, C.F. and Ostriker, J.P.: 1977, A theory of the interstellar medium: Three components regulated by supernova explosions in an inhomogeneous substrate, Astrophys. J. 218, 148-169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mebold, U., Kerp, J. and Kalberla, P.M.W.: 1998, Radio, millimeter and infrared observations of the Local Hot Bubble and its environment, in: D. Breitschwerdt, M.J. Freyberg and J. Truemper (eds.), The Local Bubble and Beyond. Lyman-Spitzer Colloquium, Proceedings of the IAU Colluquium No. 166. Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol. 506, pp. 199-210, Garching, Germany, April 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Möbius, E.: 1996, The Local Interstellar Medium viewed through pickup ions, recent results and future perspectives, Space Sci. Rev. 78, 375-386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W.T. and Frisch, P.C.: 1998, Workshop for continued discussion of the Local Bubble, in: D. Breitschwerdt, M.J. Freyberg and J. Truemper (eds.), The Local Bubble and Beyond. Lyman-Spitzer Colloquium, Proceedings of the IAU Colluquium No. 166. Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol. 506, pp. 583-587, Garching, Germany, April 1996, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W.T., Kraushaar, W.L., Nousek, J.A. and Fried, P.M.: 1977, Soft diffuse X-rays in the southern galactic hemisphere, Astrophys. J. 217, L87-L91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sfeir, D.M., Lallement, R., Crifo, F. and Welsh, B.Y.: 1999, Mapping the Contours of the Local Bubble: Preliminary Results, Astron. Astrophys. 346, 785-797.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowden, S.L., McCammon, D. and Verter, F.: 1993, The X-ray shadow of the high-latitude molecular cloud MBM 12, Astron. Astrophys. 409, L21-L24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka, Y. and Bleeker, J.A.M.: 1977, The diffuse soft X-ray sky: Astrophysics related to cosmic soft X-rays in the energy range 0.1-2.0 keV, Space Sci. Rev. 20, 815-888.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trapero, J., Beckman, J.E., Serra-Ricart, M., Cavies, R.D., Watson, R.A. and García López, R.J.: 1995, A cold massive interstellar cloud within 120 parsecs of the Sun: K I optical and H I radio observations, Astrophys. J. 445, 231-239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trapero, J., Sempere, M.J., Beckman, J.E. and Hobbs, L.M.: 1996, Molecular Cloudlets Embedded in a Diffuse H I Cloud within 120 Parsecs of the Sun, Astrophys. J. 457, 731-736.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, B.Y., Crifo, F. and Lallement, R.: 1998, A new determination of the local distribution of interstellar Na I, Astron. Astrophys. 333, 101-105.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Génova, R., Beckman, J.E. The Local Interstellar Medium in the Direction of the Galactic Anticentre. Astrophysics and Space Science 276, 187–195 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011677810785

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011677810785

Keywords

Navigation