Discover Where the Milky Way Lies Within Laniakea, a Vast Supercluster of 100,000 Galaxies
TL;DR
Researchers have mapped the movement of over 8,000 galaxies and identified our Milky Way’s exact position within the Laniakea supercluster. Stretching 500 million light-years across and containing roughly 100,000 galaxies, Laniakea is one of the largest cosmic structures in the Universe. Our galaxy resides near the edge of this vast region, connected by complex gravitational interactions with other galaxies. This newly refined cosmic map not only updates our understanding of our location in the Universe but also offers insight into the structure and flow of galaxies across this immense region of space.
The Universe is packed with solar systems, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. As we move farther from Earth, the sheer scale of the cosmos becomes overwhelming. Recently, scientists mapped the movement of about 8,000 galaxies around us, and through this work, they definitively showed that the Milky Way is just a tiny speck in the vast cosmic expanse. However, they also pinpointed our exact location in the Universe.
Introducing Laniakea, our supercluster.
Named from the Hawaiian phrase for “immeasurable heaven,” this new information compelled scientists to update the cosmic map and redefine our home supercluster. For those unfamiliar with these terms, superclusters are densely packed regions of galaxies, making them the largest structures in the Universe. Previously, it was difficult for scientists to clearly distinguish where one supercluster ended and another began. But now, that mystery has been solved.
A team of researchers in Hawaii developed a new method that maps the Universe by tracing the flow of galaxies through space, enabling them to pinpoint our place among the countless galaxies surrounding us. Their results were published in the journal Nature. According to this updated map, the Milky Way sits near the edge of the Laniakea supercluster. The 8,000 galaxies that surround us form just one branch of this supercluster, which stretches 500 million light-years across and contains approximately 100,000 galaxies. To put it in context, the entire observable Universe spans around 90 billion light-years.
This highly detailed map shows that the Milky Way, the Virgo cluster, and the other 100,000 galaxies are part of a complex gravitational interaction. The level of interaction among these galaxies allowed scientists to more clearly define our supercluster.
Watch the cosmic dance in Nature’s full video below:
