What is Gould Belt?
[[File:Rho_Ophiuchi.jpg |thumb|350px|The [[Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex|ρ Oph]] cloud complex is a star-forming region in the Gould Belt]] The '''Gould Belt''' is a partial ring of [[star]]s local to us in the [[Milky Way]]. It is about 3000 [[light years]] across, tilted from the [[galactic plane]] by 16 to 20 degrees. It has many large and bright [[OB star|O- and B-type stars]].<ref>Alves, João and others 2020. A galactic-scale gas wave in the solar neighbourhood. ''Nature'' Accelerated Article Preview. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1874-z.epdf?referrer_access_token=SrQlelQ0koH-k73u3QsnxtRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OCfZIUxtcpcDLmGcGqVxfCRAJTZg5KZCZOdI3qITHJoJvZDDKK3d0OTvGzJR9IdVIEcz1fXSkyiabr9TORYYpXE4dmQQXaZbeshXKNPeieWgLobjz_VqayvTP3iNf0U-LpuIHDYWUoaKhubLJ2GMg8x5H9xqX__oEioXY7RFAoVarrH0OC_NcavdnuJGrjeHs%3D&tracking_referrer=www.bbc.co.uk]</ref> The belt may be the local [[spiral arm]] to which [[Sun|the Sun]] belongs. At present the Sun is about 325 [[light years]] from the arm's centre. The belt is thought to be from 30 to 50 million years old, and of unknown origin. Benjamin Gould identified it in 1879.<ref>{{cite book| editor = Patrick Moore | title = Astronomy Encyclopædia| url = https://archive.org/details/philipsastronomy00ehrl | orig-year = 1987| edition = Revised| date=2002| publisher = Philip's| location = Great Britain| page = [https://archive.org/details/philipsastronomy00ehrl/page/n172 164] | isbn = 9780540078639}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.rssd.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/GAIA_files/LATEX2HTML/node29.html| title = The Gould Belt| access-date = 2006-07-18| work = The GAIA Study Report}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url = http://daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/GouldBelt.html| title = Gould Belt| access-date = 2006-07-18| encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy and Spaceflight}}</ref> The belt contains bright stars in many constellations including (in order going more or less eastward) [[Cepheus (constellation)|Cepheus]], [[Lacerta]], [[Perseus (constellat