Laniakea: Our home supercluster

nature video
3 Sept 201404:11
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe video script reveals the vastness of our cosmic home, the Milky Way, as part of the supercluster named Laniakea. Scientists, led by Brent Tully, have meticulously mapped over 8,000 galaxies, charting their positions and movements to unveil this supercluster's existence. The Milky Way is situated on its periphery, with most galaxies within it gravitating towards the Great Attractor. This discovery redefines our understanding of the Universe's structure, showcasing a cosmic web of galaxies, with superclusters being the largest known structures. The boundary of Laniakea was determined by the divergence of galactic flows, akin to a watershed. The term 'Laniakea,' meaning 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, aptly describes the immense scale of our galactic neighborhood, highlighting the interconnectedness of celestial bodies and the ongoing quest to comprehend the Universe's intricate design.

Takeaways
  • 🌌 The Milky Way is part of a larger system of galaxies known as the Laniakea supercluster.
  • 🌟 Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is located on the outskirts of the Laniakea supercluster.
  • 🌍 Scientists have mapped over 8,000 galaxies to understand the structure of the Universe.
  • 🔍 The Universe is described as an intricate network of galaxies, forming a cosmic web with both empty and densely packed regions.
  • 🚀 Superclusters are the largest structures in the Universe, and their boundaries have been challenging to define.
  • 🌐 Brent Tully's team at the University of Hawaii studied the motions of galaxies to map our home supercluster in detail.
  • 📉 By discounting cosmic expansion, the team identified galaxies being pulled towards and away from us, creating a map of cosmic flows.
  • 🌗 The Great Attractor is a dense center that pulls most galaxies in our region, including the Milky Way.
  • 🔵 A relatively empty area, known as a blue void, exists between the Great Attractor and the Milky Way.
  • 🌌 The Virgo cluster, a large and dense collection of galaxies, is a neighbor to the Milky Way.
  • 📏 The new technique revealed that what was previously thought to be a supercluster is actually an appendage of a much larger one, over 100 times bigger and more massive.
  • ⛰️ The boundary of a supercluster is defined at the points where the flows of galaxies diverge, akin to a watershed in a landscape.
  • 🌴 The name Laniakea, meaning 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, reflects the vastness of the supercluster we are part of.
Q & A

  • What is the significance of the small blue planet mentioned in the script?

    -The small blue planet is Earth, which is the third rock from the Sun and is located in the Milky Way galaxy.

  • How many galaxies were studied to map the supercluster that the Milky Way is a part of?

    -A team of scientists gathered data on more than 8,000 galaxies to map the supercluster named Laniakea.

  • What is the term used to describe the largest structures found in the Universe?

    -Superclusters are the largest structures found in the Universe.

  • How did scientists map the home supercluster of the Milky Way?

    -Scientists, led by Brent Tully at the University of Hawaii, studied the motions of galaxies around us in detail, considering both cosmic expansion and gravitational pull to create a map of cosmic flows.

  • What is the name of the dense center towards which most galaxies in the Laniakea supercluster are being pulled?

    -The dense center is known as the Great Attractor.

  • What does the term 'Laniakea' mean in Hawaiian, and why is it a fitting name for the supercluster?

    -Laniakea means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, which is a fitting name for the vast community of galaxies that we are a part of.

  • How did the team determine the boundaries of the Laniakea supercluster?

    -The team defined the boundary as the points where the flows of galaxies diverge, similar to how water divides at a watershed, marking the separation between neighboring structures.

  • What is the role of gravity in the context of the Universe's expansion?

    -Even though the Universe is rapidly expanding, gravity works to pull galaxies against this acceleration, influencing the paths that galaxies migrate along.

  • What is the 'blue void' mentioned in the script, and where is it located?

    -The 'blue void' is a relatively empty area of space situated between the Great Attractor and the Milky Way galaxy.

  • How did astronomers previously categorize the Milky Way and its surrounding galaxies?

    -Astronomers previously grouped the Milky Way with Virgo and nearly 100 other clusters in a supercluster that stretches 100,000,000 lightyears across.

  • What is the scale of the Laniakea supercluster compared to the previous understanding of the Milky Way's supercluster?

    -The Laniakea supercluster is more than 100 times bigger and more massive than the previously understood supercluster that included the Milky Way.

  • What is the significance of the Virgo cluster in relation to the Milky Way?

    -The Virgo cluster is a large and dense cluster of galaxies that has been observed from Earth for centuries and was previously thought to be part of the same supercluster as the Milky Way.

Outlines
00:00
🌌 Our Home in the Milky Way Supercluster

The script begins by setting the scene of our small blue planet, Earth, within the vast expanse of the Universe. It introduces the Milky Way as part of an even larger structure known as a supercluster, named Laniakea. Scientists have mapped over 8,000 galaxies to understand our place in the Universe, revealing that the Milky Way is situated on the outskirts of this supercluster. The Universe is depicted as a cosmic web with areas of dense galaxy clusters and vast, empty voids. The Great Attractor, a region that exerts a gravitational pull on galaxies, is identified as a central point within our supercluster. The script also describes the Milky Way's position relative to the Great Attractor, the Virgo cluster, and a blue void. It concludes by emphasizing that our galaxy is part of the immense Laniakea supercluster, highlighting the scale and interconnectedness of celestial bodies.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Milky Way
The Milky Way is our home galaxy, a vast collection of stars, planets, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. It is a spiral galaxy and is part of the larger cosmic structure known as a supercluster. In the video's narrative, the Milky Way is depicted as being on the outskirts of the Laniakea supercluster, illustrating the scale and interconnectedness of celestial bodies within the Universe.
💡Supercluster
A supercluster is a massive structure composed of numerous galaxy clusters and groups. It is one of the largest known cosmic structures. In the context of the video, the Laniakea supercluster is introduced as the larger system that includes the Milky Way, emphasizing the vastness of the Universe and our place within it.
💡Laniakea
Laniakea is the name given to the supercluster that our Milky Way galaxy is a part of. The term means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, reflecting the immense scale and the awe-inspiring nature of this celestial structure. The video uses Laniakea to redefine our understanding of the cosmic neighborhood and to highlight the interconnectedness of galaxies through gravity.
💡Cosmic Web
The cosmic web refers to the large-scale structure of the Universe, consisting of galaxies and galaxy clusters interconnected by vast filaments of dark matter and intergalactic gas. The video describes the Universe as an intricate network of galaxies, forming a cosmic web with areas of dense galaxy clusters and vast, nearly empty voids.
💡Great Attractor
The Great Attractor is a region of space that has a significant gravitational pull, drawing galaxies, including our own Milky Way, towards it. It is mentioned in the video as a dense center towards which most galaxies in the Laniakea supercluster are being pulled, indicating a significant mass concentration that influences the motion of galaxies in our cosmic vicinity.
💡Cosmic Flows
Cosmic flows describe the movement of galaxies through space, influenced by the force of gravity. The video explains that by mapping these flows, scientists can understand the paths that galaxies migrate along, which is crucial for creating a map of the distribution of matter in the Universe.
💡Brent Tully
Brent Tully is a scientist at the University of Hawaii who led the team that studied the motions of galaxies in unprecedented detail to map our home supercluster. His work is central to the video's narrative, as it provides the methodology and insights into the structure and dynamics of the Laniakea supercluster.
💡Virgo Cluster
The Virgo Cluster is a dense cluster of galaxies that has been observed from Earth for centuries. In the video, it is mentioned as being next to the Milky Way and is part of the supercluster structure. It serves as a point of reference to illustrate the scale and distribution of galaxies within the Laniakea supercluster.
💡Blue Void
The term 'blue void' refers to a relatively empty area between the Great Attractor and the Milky Way. It is used in the video to highlight the varying densities of galaxies in the Universe, with some regions being densely packed and others being nearly devoid of galaxies.
💡Cosmic Expansion
Cosmic expansion is the ongoing increase in the scale of the Universe over time. The video mentions that even though the Universe is rapidly expanding, gravity is also at work, pulling galaxies towards each other. This concept is essential for understanding the counteracting forces that shape the structure and movement of galaxies.
💡Watershed
In the context of the video, a watershed is used as an analogy to describe the boundary between different superclusters. Scientists define this boundary as the points where the flows of galaxies diverge, similar to how water divides at a watershed on Earth. This analogy helps to visualize the separation between different cosmic structures.
Highlights

The Milky Way is part of a much larger system of galaxies called the Laniakea supercluster

Laniakea is a supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way

Scientists mapped the position and movement of over 8,000 galaxies to define Laniakea

The entire Universe can be seen as an intricate network of galaxies, a cosmic web

Superclusters are the largest structures found in the Universe

Scientists struggled to define where one supercluster ends and another begins

A team led by Brent Tully at the University of Hawaii studied the motions of galaxies in unprecedented detail

They created a map of cosmic flows, the paths galaxies migrate along due to gravity

This new technique allows mapping the distribution of matter in the Universe based on galaxy motion

Most galaxies in our supercluster are being pulled towards a dense center known as the Great Attractor

The Great Attractor is a massive region of space that dominates our part of the Universe

The Milky Way and nearby galaxies were previously thought to be part of the Virgo supercluster

But the new analysis shows this is just an appendage of the much larger Laniakea supercluster

The boundary between superclusters is defined where galaxy flows diverge, like a watershed

This is the first clear definition of a supercluster and its boundaries

Laniakea means 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, fitting for the vast community of galaxies it contains

We now know Earth is located on the edge of the Laniakea supercluster in the Milky Way galaxy

Transcripts

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Milky WayLaniakeaCosmic WebGreat AttractorGalaxy MappingAstronomySpace ScienceSuperclusterUniverseScientific DiscoveryHawaiian Culture