A Slice of the Universe with 2dF
Explanation:
What can 100,000 galaxies tell you?
Perhaps the structure and composition of the universe.
Astronomers using the
Two Degree Field (2dF) spectrograph
on the
Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT)
in
Australia have
now measured the
redshifts
of over 100,000
galaxies in a thin
ribbon
of the sky.
The results show how galaxies are scattered in the
universe out to 4
billion light years.
Huge
clusters, long filaments, and
empty voids
measuring over 100 million
light years across
are visible in the resulting
2dF map, pictured
above.
The map is interesting not only for what it
shows but also for what it does not show.
It does not show even larger
structures that
would be expected were the universe filled to
critical density
with normal matter.
These results do not contradict
recent evidence that most of the
universe
is made of some type of unusual
dark energy, however.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.