THE MILKY WAY SITS IN THE MIDST OF A 'COUNCIL OF GIANTS'
Astronomers map out Earth's place in the universe
PhysOrg News || Mar 11, 2014
TOP: The brightest galaxies within 20 million light years of the Milky Way, as seen from above. The largest galaxies, here shown in yellow at different points around the dotted line, make up the "Council of Giants." Credit: Marshall McCall / York University
BOTTOM: The brightest galaxies within 20 million light years of the Milky Way, this time viewed from the side. Credit: Marshall McCall / York University
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THE MILKY WAY
We live in a galaxy known as the Milky Way – a vast conglomeration of 300 billion stars, planets whizzing around them, and clouds of gas and dust floating in between.
THE LOCAL GROUP
The Milky Way and its orbiting companion Andromeda are the dominant members of a small group of galaxies, called the Local Group, which is about 3 million light years across.
THE COUNCIL OF GIANTS
Encircling the Milky Way and Andromeda is a ring, 24 million light years across, of twelve large galaxies that are big enough to restrict how far our gravity can affect the rest of the universe.
THE LOCAL SHEET
The Local Group together with the other nearby bright galaxies make up a ‘Local Sheet’ 34 million light years across and only 1.5 million light years thick.
Twelve of the fourteen giants in the Local Sheet, including the Milky Way and Andromeda, are “spiral galaxies” which have highly flattened disks in which stars are forming.
The remaining two are more puffy “elliptical galaxies”, whose stellar bulks were laid down long ago.
