Local Interstellar Cloud
Sign in to saveAlso known as LIC, Local Fluff, Solar Interstellar Neighbourhood, Solar Interstellar Cloud
interstellar cloud in the Milky Way Galaxy
Key facts
- Constellation
- None, Solar System is inside the nebula
- Dimensions
- 30 ly (9.2 pc )
- Designations
- Local Cloud, Local Fluff, LIC
via Wikipedia infobox
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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 an interstellar cloud roughly 30 light-years (9.2 pc) across, through which the Solar System is moving. This feature overlaps with a region around the Sun referred to as the solar neighborhood. It is unknown whether the Sun is embedded in the Local Interstellar Cloud, or is in the region where the Local Interstellar Cloud is interacting with the neighboring G-Cloud. Like the G-Cloud and others, the LIC is part of the Very Local Interstellar Medium which begins where the heliosphere and interplanetary medium end, the furthest that probes have traveled.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Local Interstellar Cloud” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.