An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A band of hot, young stars (O and B types) and molecular clouds that stretches around the sky. It is
tilted by about 20 degrees with respect to the Galactic plane, and has a diameter of about 3000 light-years.

See also: Named after the American astronomer Benjamin A. Gould (1824-1896), who discovered it in 1879 by studying the distribution of the nearest luminous stars in space; → belt.