Radcliffe wave

The Radcliffe wave is the nearest gaseous structure to the Solar System in the Milky Way galaxy. 

It has many stellar nurseries. It stretches for about 8,800 light years. It runs the way of the Milky Way arms. At its closest (the Taurus Molecular Cloud) it is about 400 light-years. Its farthest is about 5000 light-years (the Cygnus X star complex) from us.

The wave is in the Local Arm (Orion Arm) itself, about 40% of its length and on average 20% of its width. Its discovery was announced in January 2020.

 Overview 
The Radcliffe wave contains four of the five Gould Belt clouds, the: 
Orion Molecular Cloud Complex
Perseus Molecular Cloud
Taurus Molecular cloud
Cepheus OB2. 

The cloud not within its scope is the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud complex. This is part of a linear structure parallel to the Radcliffe wave.

Other structures in the wave, further from our local star system, are Canis Major OB1, the North America Nebula and Cygnus X.

 References 

Category:Milky Way