We have recently re-analysed the Hipparcos survey data to revisit the spatial
distribution of OB stars within 500pc of the sun. Using modern data mining and
vizualisation techniques, we find that OB stars are organized in 3 large (300~400pc)
elongated structures. The spatial coherence of these "blue streams¡É and the monotonic
age sequence over hundreds of parsecs suggest that they are made of young stars, similar
to the young streams that are conspicuous in nearby spiral galaxies. The three blue
streams are 1) the Scorpius to Canis Majoris stream, covering 350 pc and 65 Myr of star
formation history, 2) the Vela stream, encompassing at least 150 pc and 25 Myr of star
formation history, and 3) the Orion stream, including not only the well-known Orion
OB1abcd associations, but also a large previously unreported foreground stellar group
lying only 200 pc from the Sun. The map also reveals a remarkable and previously unknown
nearby OB association, between the Orion stream and the Taurus molecular clouds, which
might be responsible for the observed structure and star formation activity in this
cloud complex. This new association also appears to be the birthplace of Betelgeuse, as
indicated by the proximity and velocity of the red giant. If this is confirmed, it would
solve the long-standing puzzle of the origin of Betelgeuse. The well-known nearby
star-forming low-mass clouds, including the nearby T and R associations Lupus, Cha, Oph,
CrA, Taurus, Vela R1, and various low-mass cometary clouds in Vela and Orion, appear in
this new view of the local neighbourhood to be secondary star formation episodes that
most likely were triggered by the feedback from the massive stars in the streams. We
also recover well-known star clusters of various ages that are currently cruising
through the solar neighbourhood. Finally, we find no evidence of an elliptical structure
such as the Gould Belt, a structure we suggest is a 2D projection effect, and not a
physical ring.