A wonderful and interesting video on the shape and dynamics of our local universe, the portion of cosmos our galaxy, the Milky Way, takes part.
“Superclusters – regions of space that are densely packed with galaxies – are the biggest structures in the Universe. But scientists have struggled to define exactly where one supercluster ends and another begins. Now, a team based in Hawaii has come up with a new technique that maps the Universe according to the flow of galaxies across space. Redrawing the boundaries of the cosmic map, they redefine our home supercluster and name it Laniakea, which means ‘immeasurable heaven’ in Hawaiian.”
Credits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE8yHySiJ4A
Read the research paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13674
Read Nature’s news story: http://www.nature.com/news/earth-s-new-address-solar-system-milky-way-laniakea-1.15819