This article has been reviewed according to Science X's  													editorial process 													and policies. 													Edi

The Milky Way might be part of an even larger structure than Laniakea

submited by
Style Pass
2024-10-14 18:00:02

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

If you want to pinpoint your place in the universe, start with your cosmic address. You live on Earth->Solar System->Milky Way Galaxy->Local Cluster->Virgo Cluster->Virgo Supercluster->Laniakea. Thanks to new deep sky surveys, astronomers now think all those places are part of an even bigger cosmic structure in the "neighborhood" called The Shapley Concentration.

Astronomers refer to the Shapley Concentration as a "basin of attraction." That's a region loaded with mass that acts as an "attractor." It's a region containing many clusters and groups of galaxies and comprises the greatest concentration of matter in the local universe. All those galaxies, plus dark matter, lend their gravitational influence to the Concentration.

There are many of these basins in the universe, including Laniakea. Astronomers are working to survey them more precisely, which should help provide a more precise map of the largest structures in the universe.

Leave a Comment