Related papers: Mixing Interstellar Clouds Surrounding the Sun
Analysis of interstellar absorption lines observed in high-resolution {\em HST} spectra of nearby stars provides temperatures, turbulent velocities, and kinetic properties of warm interstellar clouds. Previous studies identified 15 warm…
The Complex of Local Interstellar Clouds (CLIC) is a relatively tight grouping of low density, warm, partially ionized clouds within about 15 pc of the Solar System. The Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) is the cloud observed on most lines of…
We present an empirical dynamical model of the local interstellar medium based on 270 radial-velocity measurements for 157 sight lines toward nearby stars. Physical-parameter measurements (i.e., temperature, turbulent velocity, depletions)…
At present, the heliosphere is embedded in a warm low density interstellar cloud that belongs to a cloud system flowing through the local standard of rest with a velocity near ~18 km/s. The velocity structure of the nearest interstellar…
Aims: We offer a new, simpler picture of the local interstellar medium, made of a single continuous cloud enveloping the Sun. This new outlook enables the description of a diffuse cloud from within and brings to light some unexpected…
We offer a new, more inclusive, picture of the local interstellar medium, where it is composed of a single, monolithic cloud that surrounds the Sun in all directions. Our study of velocities based on Mg II and Fe II ultraviolet absorption…
The interstellar cloud surrounding the solar system regulates the galactic environment of the Sun, and determines the boundary conditions of the heliosphere. Both the Sun and interstellar clouds move through space, so these boundary…
The composition and physical properties of several local clouds, including the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) in which the Sun is embedded, are derived from absorption features in the UV spectrum of the star epsilon CMa. We derive…
The properties of interstellar clouds near the Sun are ordered by the Loop I superbubble and by the interstellar radiation field. Comparisons of the kinematics and magnetic field of the interstellar gas flowing past the Sun, including the…
This paper reviews past research and new studies underway of the local interstellar environment and its changing influence on the heliosphere. The size, shape, and physical properties of the heliosphere outside of the heliopause are…
We describe the interface between the outer heliosphere and the local interstellar medium (LISM) surrounding the Sun. The components of the inner LISM are the four partially ionized clouds [the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), G cloud, Blue…
We present new calculations of the photoionization of interstellar matter within ~5 pc of the Sun (which we refer to as the Complex of Local Interstellar Clouds or CLIC) by directly observed radiation sources including nearby hot stars and…
Several nearby individual low column density interstellar cloudlets have been identified based on kinematical features evident in high-resolution CaII observations near the Sun. One of these cloudlets, the ``Aquila-Ophiuchus'' cloud, is…
In this article I review recent observations of the gaseous halos of galaxies and the intergalactic medium at low redshift. In the first part I discuss distribution, metal content, and physical properties of the Galactic intermediate- and…
Observations of interstellar gas and dust towards nearby stars and within the solar system show that the Sun is embedded in a warm diffuse partially-ionized cloud. This cloud is the leading edge of a flow of interstellar matter (ISM)…
The galactic environment of the Sun varies over short timescales as the Sun and interstellar clouds travel through space. Small variations in the dynamics, ionization, density, and magnetic field strength of the interstellar medium (ISM)…
The solar system is moving through the partially ionized local interstellar cloud (LIC). The ionized matter of the LIC interacts with the expanding solar wind forming the heliospheric interface. The neutral component (interstellar atoms)…
The interaction of the heliosphere with interstellar clouds has attracted interest since the late 1920's, both with a view to explaining apparent quasi-periodic climate "catastrophes" as well as periodic mass extinctions. Until recently,…
We analyze interstellar absorption features in the full UV spectrum of the nearby (d = 24 pc) B8 IVn star alpha Leo (Regulus) obtained at high resolution and high S/N by the HST ASTRAL Treasury program. We derive column densities for many…
The interstellar medium within $\rm\approx 15 \; pc$ of the Sun consists of a complex of fifteen diffuse, partially ionized clouds. Located within the Local Bubble, these clouds, known as the Cluster of Local Interstellar Clouds (CLIC),…