Showing posts with label milky way. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milky way. Show all posts

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Astronomers detect enormous ‘invisible’ structures moving 50km per second across the Milky Way


Astronomers have detected what appear to be enormous ‘invisible’ structures located 3,000 light-years from us and moving 50km per second across the Milky Way

photo credit: Shown is a still from an animation of the lensing effect produced by the structures. Keith Bannister (CSIRO)/Artem Tuntsov (Manly Astrophysics)
Photo credit: Shown is a still from an animation of the lensing effect produced by the structures. Keith Bannister (CSIRO)/Artem Tuntsov (Manly Astrophysics)

Astronomers have discovered invisible structures lurking in the interstellar space in the Milky Way. Although previously, researchers speculated these invisible structures exist, the new study, published in the Journal Science will help astronomers contain their size and shape much better.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Welcome to Laniakea: Galactic Super-cluster where our Milky way resides in + video




  • Laniakea means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian - and it measures 500 million light years across and contains 100,000 galaxies.


  • It may not be stamped in your passport, but everyone on Earth is now officially a citizen of Laniakea.
    That is the name scientists have given the gigantic super-cluster of galaxies that contains our own Milky Way, which is revealed in a stunning new 3D animation.
    The word means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian - an appropriate description for a structure 500 million light years across that contains 100,000 galaxies and the mass of a hundred quadrillion suns.


  • Word means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian 
  • Structure is 500 million light years across 
  • Contains 100,000 galaxies and the mass of a hundred quadrillion suns
  • Around Laniakea are four neighbouring superclusters known as Shapley, Hercules, Coma and Perseus-Pisces 
  • First supercluster to have its size mapped by astronomers.