The Gould's Belt Distances Survey (GOBELINS) II. Distances and structure towards the Orion Molecular Clouds

TL;DR

This study uses VLBA observations to measure precise distances and motions of young stars in the Orion Molecular Cloud, revealing detailed structure and kinematics of the region.

Contribution

First high-precision VLBA parallax measurements for multiple young stellar objects in Orion, improving understanding of the region's three-dimensional structure.

Findings

Distances to key regions in Orion are precisely measured.

Detected multiple systems among young stellar objects.

Observed plasma scattering effects towards λ Ori.

Abstract

We present the results of the Gould's Belt Distances Survey (GOBELINS) of young star forming regions towards the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. We detected 36 YSOs with the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA), 27 of which have been observed in at least 3 epochs over the course of 2 years. At least half of these YSOs belong to multiple systems. We obtained parallax and proper motions towards these stars to study the structure and kinematics of the Complex. We measured a distance of 388$\pm$5 pc towards the Orion Nebula Cluster, 428$\pm$10 pc towards the southern portion L1641, 388$\pm$10 pc towards NGC 2068, and roughly $\sim$420 pc towards NGC 2024. Finally, we observed a strong degree of plasma radio scattering towards $\lambda$ Ori.