The solar neighborhood as a research area refers to the study of the immediate galactic environment surrounding the Sun, typically encompassing nearby stars within a few tens to hundreds of parsecs, along with interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter in this volume. Research in this domain focuses on precise astrometry, stellar kinematics, and chemical abundances to characterize the local stellar population, constrain the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way disk, and refine models of Galactic evolution. It also underpins the calibration of the cosmic distance scale, stellar population synthesis, and the local star formation history.
A new study led by a Georgia State University astronomy graduate student is a major step forward in the search for stars that could host Earth-like planets that may prove to be good havens for life to develop. Sebastián Carrazco-Gaxiola ...
Astrobiology
Jan 6, 2026
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Nearly 4.5 million years ago, two large, hot stars brushed tantalizingly close to Earth's sun. They left behind a trace in the clouds of gas and dust that swirl just beyond our solar system—almost like the scent of perfume ...
Astronomy
Dec 1, 2025
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191
Astronomers have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to find strong evidence for a planet orbiting a star in the triple system closest to our own sun. At just 4 light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri star system ...
Astronomy
Aug 7, 2025
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For decades, astronomers have discovered hundreds of protoplanetary disks—structures believed to represent the early stages of our own solar system. However, most of these discoveries lie within our neighborhood, which may ...
Astronomy
May 15, 2025
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The NASA New Horizons spacecraft's extensive observations of Lyman-alpha emissions have resulted in the first-ever map from the galaxy at this important ultraviolet wavelength, providing a new look at the galactic region ...
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2025
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An international team of scientists led by a Rutgers University–New Brunswick astrophysicist has discovered a potentially star-forming cloud that is one of the largest single structures in the sky and among the closest to ...
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2025
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In our neighborhood of the Milky Way, we see a region surrounding the solar system that is far less dense than average. But that space, that cavity, is a very irregular, elongated shape. What little material is left inside ...
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2025
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74
Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 1, 2024
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