The Galactic Environments of Nearby Cool Stars

The definition of nearby star systems is incomplete without an understanding of the dynamical interaction between the stars and ambient interstellar material. The Sun itself has been immersed in the Local Bubble interior void for millions of years, and entered the outflow of interstellar material from the Scorpius-Centaurus Association within the past $\sim10^5$ years. Heliosphere dimensions have been relatively large during this period. A subset of nearby stars have similar recent histories, and astrosphere properties are predictable providing ambient interstellar matter and stellar activity cycles are understood. The properties of astrospheres can be used to probe the interstellar medium, and in turn outer planets are more frequently immersed in raw interstellar material than inner planets.