Scientists successfully create the most accurate 3-D map of our universe

The 3D maps of countless stars and planets have, time and again, been repeated in a multitude of sci-fi movies. But now astronomers have managed to create the most complete 3-D map of our local universe – in the process, divulging new information about our cosmological location. The map features an expanse of around 380 million light-years, which includes about 45,000 of our neighboring galaxies.

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The map was composed from data collected by the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Redshift Survey (2MRS), which took 10 years to scan the complete night sky in near-infrared light. The survey itself utilized two ground telescopes: the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The near-infrared light we are talking about, has a much longer wavelength than visible light, and, thus, it is able to reach out and penetrate opaque objects scattered in the universe like clouds and dust.

Another interesting feature of this map is that it could help us in gaining more knowledge about the motion of Milky Way (its vast expanse of 100,000 light-years is moving at a speed of 370 miles per second or 600 km per second), in respect to the universe.

Karen Masters from the University of Portsmouth, said:

The most important science question that having a complete map addresses is the source of the motion of the Milky Way. What's causing that is gravity, and finding the source of that gravity, where the mass is, has been a longstanding issue. Only by making an all-sky map can you account for all the galaxies that are there. We should now be able to account for that motion.

Source: FoxNews