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Welcome To Laniakea, Our New Cosmic Home

Posted by samzenpus on from the where-the-cosmic-heart-is dept.

astroengine writes Using a new mapping technique that takes into account the motions — and not just the distances — of nearby galaxies, astronomers discovered that the Milky Way is located in the suburb of a massive, previously unknown super-cluster they named Laniakea, a term from Hawaiian words meaning "immeasurable heaven." Actually, Laniakea's girth is measurable, though difficult to conceptualize. The super-cluster spans 520 million light-years in diameter, more than five times larger than the cluster previously believed to be the Milky Way's cosmic home.

2 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. A body in motion etc. by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So I get the idea of the new grouping. Some things we used to consider our neighbors, we're actually just flying past and have no long term connection to.

    I get why that's useful. But I don't get why it'd replace our existing grouping. For a human lifespan, that grouping is all but permanent.

    1. Re:A body in motion etc. by kruach+aum · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It replaces the new grouping in much the same way Einstein replaced Newtonian mechanics. It is a more accurate description of our place in the universe, just as relativity is a more accurate description of moving bodies, even if on human scales the two are nearly indistinguishable.