Meet the largest structure in the observable universe: Laniakea

[Scarlet Witch 1,656]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rENyyRwxpHo

 

 

Earth's new address: 'Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea'
 

The supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way is 100 times bigger in volume and mass than previously thought, a team of astronomers says. They have mapped the enormous region and given it the name Laniakea  Hawaiian for 'immeasurable heaven'.

Galaxies tend to huddle in groups called clusters; regions where these clusters are densely packed are known as superclusters. But the definition of these massive cosmic structures is vague.

The new study, published in Nature1, describes a novel way to define where one supercluster ends and another begins. A team led by Brent Tully, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, charted the motions of galaxies to infer the gravitational landscape of the local Universe, and redraw its map.

Cosmic speed
The team used a database2 that compiles the velocities of 8,000 galaxies, calculated after subtracting the average rate of cosmic expansion. “All these deviations are due to the gravitational pull galaxies feel around them, which comes from mass,†says Tully. The researchers used an algorithm to translate these velocities into a three-dimensional field of galaxy flow and density. “We really can’t claim to have a good understanding of cosmology if we cannot explain this motion,†says Tully.

This method is superior to merely mapping the location of matter, because it enables scientists to build a map of uncharted regions of the Universe, says Paulo Lopes, an astrophysicist at the Valongo Observatory, part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. It relies on detecting the galaxies' influence, rather than seeing them directly.

Moreover, the galaxies' motions reflect the distribution of all matter, not just that which is visible in our telescopes  including dark matter.

Discounting cosmic expansion, their map shows flow lines down which galaxies creep under the effect of gravity in their local region (see video). Based on this, the team defines the edge of a supercluster as the boundary at which these flow lines diverge. On one side of the line, galaxies flow towards one gravitational centre; beyond it, they flow towards another. “It’s like water dividing at a watershed, where it flows either to the left or right of a height of land,†says Tully.

Frontiers in space
This is a completely new definition of a supercluster. Scientists previously placed the Milky Way in the Virgo Supercluster, but under Tully and colleagues' definition, this region becomes just an appendage of the much larger Laniakea, which is 160 million parsecs (520 million light years) across and contains the mass of 100 million billion Suns.

However, this work is unlikely to be the final word on what a supercluster is, says Gayoung Chon, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany. Her team works on a different definition, based on superclusters being structures that will one day collapse into a single object. This will not happen to Laniakea, she estimates, because some of the galaxies within it will recede from one another forever. “The definition you use really depends on the questions you want to ask. This latest method is a very good way to chart the large-scale structures of the Universe, but it doesn’t ask what will happen to these superclusters eventually,†she says.

Although the map is comprehensive over the Universe around the Milky Way, its distance measurements become less accurate, and less numerous, the farther out you go, says Lopes. This is currently the technique’s biggest potential source of error, he says, but adding more galaxy measurements will improve the map and could eventually help scientists to fully trace what is behind the motion of our local group of galaxies.

http://www.nature.com/news/earth-s-new-address-solar-system-milky-way-laniakea-1.15819

 

 

 

Mad magical.

Certainly puts out petty stan wars, religious wars, 'is it offensive?' debates to utter shame.

[Cody Draco 2,531]

Lovely.

[Snorlax 6,370]

Makes me feel so insignificant. 

[Chromatislaps 34,854]

  

[Scarlet Witch 1,656]

The crazy thing is, we don't even have the capability to travel even half of our solar system with manned flights, let alone 1% of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Travelling far enough to observe this structure from some other supercluster is going to be crazy, and way far beyond any human comprehension or ability.

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

Amazing!

[DontDoubtDavid 1,196]

wow.

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

Humbling

[Stuff 5]

Laniakea sounds awesome. 

[ThatSLAYGUY 68]

Well now I feel small 

 

[homomo 23,883]

The crazy thing is, we don't even have the capability to travel even half of our solar system with manned flights, let alone 1% of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Travelling far enough to observe this structure from some other supercluster is going to be crazy, and way far beyond any human comprehension or ability.

Well, it's possible for humans to visit other planets and regions within our own solar system very soon! Take a look at this. It shows how long it would take to get to each planet from Earth at it's closest points!

 

Method= Shuttle             Galileo         Ion A           Ion B              Solar Sail

Speed =  28,000mph      54,000mph  65,000mph  650,000mph  200,000mph

Mercury  52d                   27d              22d              2.2d               7.3d

Venus     100d                 52d              43d              4.3d               14d

Mars       210d                 109d            90d              9d                  29d

Jupiter    1.9yr                 1yr               303d            31d                100d

Saturn     3.6yr                1.8yr            1.5yr            55d                179d

Uranus    7.3yr                3.8yr            3.1yr            113d              1yr

Neptune  11.4yr             5.9yr             4.9yr            179d              1.6yr

Pluto       15.1yr              7.8yr            6.5yr            238d               2.1yr

 

 

However, humans are most likely never going to leave our own solar system

[Young Pancake 693]

Wow. The universe has always fascinated me, its so immense and complex. 

[socotra 3,357]

Wow. Awe-inspiring. 

[TheOriginalOne 11,604]

I always find these things so interesting.

[Jjang 2,262]

*This is so overwhelming.