Mapping the depths of the Orion star-forming complex with high-precision radio astrometry

Star system: HD 290862 | Distance from the Sun: 1250 light years

Using the Very Long Baseline Array, researchers have conducted a detailed survey of young stellar objects within the Orion complex to map its three-dimensional structure with unprecedented precision. By detecting 216 compact radio sources and tracking the movement of 58 of them over multiple epochs, the study successfully measured their distances and motions.

The findings reveal that the Orion complex spans distances from 380 to 440 parsecs, providing specific mean distances for key regions such as the Orion Nebula Cluster and NGC 2024. This high-precision radio data not only helps visualize the layout of these hidden stellar nurseries but also serves as an independent calibration for the Gaia satellite's reference system in regions obscured by cosmic dust.

Scientific study

Dynamical masses of YSOs with the VLBA: DYNAMO VLBA: Trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions of YSOs in Orion (external link)