Gaia predicts the future of the Milky Way Interstellar Medium
The interstellar medium (ISM) is an inseparable part of the Milky Way ecosystem whose evolutionary history remains a challenging question. In Weather Forecast of the Milky Way: Shear and Stellar feedback determine the lives of Galactic-scale filaments we trace the evolution of the molecular ISM using a sample of Young Stellar Objects (YSO) association --molecular cloud complex (YSO-MC complex). We simulate the motions of the YSO-MC complexes in the Galactic potential and forecast the ISM evolution by tracing the motions of the individual complexes, and reveal the roles of shear and stellar feedback in determining ISM evolution.
An interactive slide is available below.