Local Standard of Rest

The Local Standard of Rest (LSR) is a reference point used by astronomers to describe the average motion of stars in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy. It represents a hypothetical point that moves with the average velocity of nearby stars, providing a baseline to measure how individual stars or objects move relative to their local environment. This helps astronomers understand the galaxy's structure and dynamics by comparing the motion of stars and other celestial objects to this standard motion, filtering out the local variations and highlighting broader galactic behaviors.