3D extinction maps (R. Lallement et al.)

Vol. 561
In section 6. Interstellar and circumstellar matter

3D maps of the local ISM from inversion of individual color excess measurements

Accurate 3D maps of nearby Galactic interstellar matter (ISM) are important for putting the position of the Sun in the Milky Way into context, as well as for addressing a wide range of research topics where reliable distances to gas clouds are sorely needed (e.g., star formation). Building all-sky 3D maps is, however, far from trivial given the relatively few reliable distance probes available. In a recent paper, Lallement et al. (2014) use 23000 lines of sight toward stars with color excess and parallax or photometric distances to construct a 3D map of the local ISM at resolutions of 10-100 pc to distances of around 1 kpc. This 3D map is particularly sensitive to local and neighboring ISM voids or to “cavities”, and it constitutes the first computed representation of the well known Gould belt/Lindblad ring structures.