Astronomers have created a new, complete 3D map of our neighboring universe spanning out about 380 million light years, and the picture has helped them get closer to answering some perplexing questions about our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Redshift Survey (2MRS) took 10 years to scan the universe and compile this data. Clara Moskowitz over at Space.com has the story:
“I think it speaks to our desire to understand our place in the universe,” said Karen Masters of the University of Portsmouth in England, during a press conference today. “I wouldn’t be happy if we didn’t have a complete map of the Earth. It’s nice to have a complete map of where we live.”
To make the map, researchers used the phenomenon of a redshift, created by the Doppler Effect and the expansion of the universe — the red wavelength of light coming from any object is lengthened as the universe expands and moves away; this is akin to an ambulance siren passing you by on the street, the sound lowering and stretching as it rushes away. By measuring these redshifts and plotting their intensity, astronomers were able to determine the distance from Earth to many points in our neighboring universe.
The near-infrared light used to make the surveys could see through dust clouds and other obstacles that visible light couldn’t penetrate in previous attempts.
The big question is this: The Milky Way is speeding through the cosmos at an incredible rate, one too fast to be explained by the mass that astronomers can currently factor in to their calculations. The new map, based on the movement of everything around us, has given scientists some valuable clues about where this extra gravitational pull may be coming from.
“The most important science question that having a complete map addresses is the source of the motion of the Milky Way,” Masters said. “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.”
New and ever-more complete maps of the universe and the brain are bringing researchers closer to understanding the mysteries of these intricate systems, yet it’s hard to imagine them ever being complete. These strides will give us some answers, but will undoubtedly only serve to spark more questions.
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All images: Space.com
