September 6, 2014

Two views of the Laniakea supercluster. The outer surface shows the region dominated by Laniakea's gravity (Image SDvision interactive visualization software by DP at CEA/Saclay, France. All rights reserved)

An international team of astronomers led by R. Brent Tully of the University of Hawaii determined the boundaries of a galactic supercluster that includes the Milky Way. In the article in the journal “Nature” that illustrates this research it’s explained how the astronomers defined the contours of this supercluster they called Laniakea, a word in the Hawaiian language which means “immense heaven”.