kids encyclopedia robot

Local Interstellar Cloud facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Local Interstellar Clouds with motion arrows
Diagram of the local clouds of matter that the Solar System is moving through, with arrows indicating cloud motion.
The Local Interstellar Cloud and neighboring G-cloud complex
Map showing the Sun located near the edge of the Local Interstellar Cloud and Alpha Centauri about 4 light-years away in the neighboring G-Cloud complex

The Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), also known as the Local Fluff, is the interstellar cloud roughly 30 light-years (9.2 pc) across, through which the Solar System is moving. It is unknown if the Sun is embedded in the Local Interstellar Cloud, or in the region where the Local Interstellar Cloud is interacting with the neighboring G-Cloud.

Structure

The Solar System is located within a structure called the Local Bubble, a low-density region of the galactic interstellar medium. Within this region is the Local Interstellar Cloud, an area of slightly higher hydrogen density. The Sun is near the edge of the Local Interstellar Cloud. It is thought to have entered the region at some point between 44,000 and 150,000 years ago and is expected to remain within it for another 10,000 to 20,000 years.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Nube Interestelar Local para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Local Interstellar Cloud Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.