2001AJ....121.2737M

We have developed a method to calculate the fundamental parameters of the vertical structure of the Galaxy in the solar neighborhood from trigonometric parallaxes alone. The method takes into account Lutz-Kelker-type biases in a self-consistent way and has been applied to a sample of O-B5 stars obtained from the Hipparcos catalog. We find that the Sun is located 24.2±1.7 (random)±0.4 (systematic) pc above the Galactic plane and that the disk O-B5 stellar population is distributed with a scale height of 34.2±0.8 (random)±2.5 (systematic) pc and an integrated surface density of [1.62±0.04 (random)±0.14 (systematic)]x10^–3 stars.pc^–2. A halo component is also detected in the distribution and constitutes at least ~5% of the total O-B5 population. The O-B5 stellar population within ∼100 pc of the Sun has an anomalous spatial distribution, with a less than average number density. This local disturbance is probably associated with the expansion of the Gould Belt.