Astronomers discover largest superclusters of galaxies next to Milky Way

The Milky Way – which houses our solar system was previously believed to be alone. But now, a new discovery has come to forefront raising some serious questions on this long-established belief. A group of international astronomers recently have discovered the largest superclusters of galaxies close to the Milky Way, a finding which can lead scientists to unlock the most mysterious configuration of nature – Space.

The study carried out by a team of international researchers from Australian National University (ANU) has revealed that our Milky Way is not alone! It is surrounded by Superclusters of Galaxies which are said to be the biggest galaxy clusters of the universe. The Vela supercluster, which was concealed by stars and dust and had previously been detected by the scientists now is found to house a supercluster of galaxies.

On this matter, the lead author of the study Matthew Colless, who is also a professor of ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics said, “The discovery is one of the hugest findings of the space. The Vela Superclusters is found to house a hundred thousands of galaxies, which is likely to be one of the biggest disclosures in the space history. However, the complete details are subjective to further investigations and experiments”.

In order to measure the distance of galaxies, Professor Colless, and his team used the Anglo-Australian Telescope. During the measurement process, the researchers confirmed that the previous predictions about the distance of galaxies at Vela were factual and it is a supercluster. During the study, the international astronomer team also successfully estimated the effect of the superclusters on the movement of the Milky Way.

Taking the statement further, Colless added, “The discovery of the superclusters in Vela Supercluster and its gravity is expected to define the difference between the calculated movement of the Milky Way through space and the activity envisaged from the datasheet of the formerly mapped galaxies.”

In the research, a number of astronomers from South Africa, Australia, and Europe are involved. The further study to measure the dimension of the Vela Supercluster has already been started and by the end of 2017, scientists will confirm the size of the biggest Supercluster of the universe.