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Old 01-July-2009, 01:32 AM
tracer tracer is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA
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Default Which stars are in the Local Interstellar Cloud?

Okay, let's just say for the sake of argument that I've invented a shiny new Bussard-style ramscoop spacecraft that generates next-to-no drag while it produces thrust, even at relativistic speeds.

The only drawback to this nigh-utopian wondervessel is that the amount of thrust it can produce depends on the density of the interstellar medium.

I realize the sun is embedded inside an interstellar cloud, the so-called Local Fluff, whose interstellar density is about 1 atom of hydrogen for every 4 cubic centimeters. This cloud, in turn, is inside a much larger "Local Bubble" of extremely rarefied space, clocking in at a paltry 1 hydrogen atom for every 10 cubic centimeters.

What I want to know is, what OTHER stars are in the Local Fluff along with the sun? The only data I have so far is this picture:



... which lets me know that Sirius, Alpha Centauri, and Procyon are not in the Local Interstellar Cloud, and that Altair might be in the Local Interstellar Cloud.

I'd like something more comprehensive. Is there some place where I could type in the galactic X-Y-Z coordinates for a star -- or a Right-Ascension, Declination, and Distance -- and have it tell me whether that star is in the Local Fluff or not? Is there a list of all nearby stars that are in the Cloud somewhere? I wanna know if I can fly to UV Ceti, dog gone it!
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