Astronomers Map Colossal Structure Behind Milky Way, Revealing Vast Cosmic Supercluster
Astronomers have successfully mapped a colossal cosmic structure hidden behind the Milky Way, known as the Vela Supercluster. This discovery, detailed in a study published on arXiv, reveals one of the largest known formations in the universe, stretching about 300 million light-years across. The supercluster, located approximately 800 million light-years away, was previously obscured by the dense stellar disk of the Milky Way. The mapping was achieved using a combination of 65,000 galaxy distance measurements and 8,000 new redshift observations, with significant contributions from South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope. This telescope detects radio emissions from hydrogen gas within galaxies, allowing astronomers to penetrate the dust that blocks visible light. The Vela Supercluster contains at least 20 galaxy clusters, with a mass estimated to equal around 30 quadrillion suns. 
