Solar system’s journey through Orion complex 14 million years ago may have altered Earth’s climate

So did we pass through the constellation/nebula of Orion or just a dense region where the constellation is currently in?

“May” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that title:

> While the study raises the possibility of a link between the past traverse of the solar system through its galactic neighborhood and Earth’s climate via interstellar dust, the authors emphasize that a causal connection requires further investigation.

> “While the underlying processes responsible for the Middle Miocene Climate Transition are not entirely identified, the available reconstructions suggest that a long-term decrease in the atmospheric greenhouse gas carbon dioxide concentration is the most likely explanation, although large uncertainties exist.

> “However, our study highlights that interstellar dust related to the crossing of the Radcliffe Wave might have impacted Earth’s climate and potentially played a role during this climate transition. To alter the Earth’s climate the amount of extraterrestrial dust on Earth would need to be much bigger than what the data so far suggest,” says Maconi.