"The Radcliffe Wave: The Enormous Star-Studded Wave in the Milky Way"

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Source: Yahoo! Voices
"The Radcliffe Wave: The Enormous Star-Studded Wave in the Milky Way"
Photo: Yahoo! Voices
TL;DR

Astronomers have discovered the Radcliffe Wave, a massive chain of gas clouds in the Milky Way containing 800 million stars, and have now found evidence that it is a literal wave, oscillating over time with stars rising and falling through the galaxy's disk. The Wave, up to 400 light-years deep and 9,000 light-years long, is radiating away from the galaxy's center and may have contributed to the formation of the Local Bubble around our solar system. This discovery provides insight into the dynamics of our galaxy and was published in the journal Nature on Feb. 20.

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