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The Local Bubble and Beyond: Summary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Extract
Lyman Spitzer, Jr, the founder of modern studies of the interstellar medium (ISM), passed away March 31, 1997. This conference occurred shortly thereafter and is dedicated to his memory. While many of his contributions underlie the work that was discussed at this meeting, one paper stands out in particular: his theoretical “discovery” of the hot gaseous halo of the Galaxy based on the need to confine the clouds of H I observed above the Galactic plane (Spitzer 1956). We now know that much of the ISM within about 100 pc of the Sun is largely filled by very low density gas, which is generally inferred to be hot, and as a result this region is termed the Local Bubble (Cox and Reynolds 1987). This conference was convened to establish the current state of our knowledge of the Local Bubble, both observational and theoretical, and its relation to the rest of the ISM. Because it is nearby, the Local Bubble is a laboratory for interstellar astrophysics, making the dedication to Spitzer’s memory particularly appropriate.
- Type
- Part X Conference Summary
- Information
- International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 166: The Local Bubble and Beyond , 1997 , pp. 563 - 580
- Copyright
- Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1998
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