As we continue to investigate the universe, we begin to discover how little we really know. For example, the total number of galaxies in the universe is still unknown, although estimates range from 200,000 to 1 billion.

But considering how little we’ve seen of the universe, this number could increase dramatically. There are an inconceivable number of planets orbiting the 400 billion stars that make up our Milky Way galaxy.

  Furthermore, the Milky Way has a diameter of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers, or about 621,371,000,000,000,000 miles, and 105,000 light years. Put another way, because the Milky Way is so large, mapping it will require advanced equipment and a lot more study.

Comparatively speaking, scientists have not stood idly by. They have already begun to track the actual trajectory of the Milky Way in space. They have collected information from more than 8,000 galaxies near the Milky Way, giving them a much clearer understanding of our actual cosmic location.

Astronomers mapped the motion and location of each galaxy in space. They discovered that the Milky Way is a component of a vast system called a supercluster of galaxies, which holds thousands of other galaxies together.

The Milky Way is a component of the enormous cosmic structure known as Laniakea, which spans 500 million light years and contains 100,000,000,000,000,000 stars scattered in between 100,000 and 150,000 galaxies, according to research. The motions of a large number of neighboring galaxies were mapped using radio telescopes.

In Hawaiian, the name Laniakea means “vast sky”, derived from the words lani, meaning “heaven” and ākea, meaning “spacious, immeasurable”. According to the latest recent data, the Laniakea supercluster contains around 100,000 galaxies distributed over 160 megaparsecs (520 million light years).

It consists of four subparts that were previously recognized as separate superclusters:

The Virgo Supercluster contains the Milky Way.

Centaur-Hydra Supercumulus

The Great Attractor is the central gravitational point of Lanikea, located near Norma.

Another name for the Hydra Supercluster is Antlia Wall.

Within the constellation of Centaurus is the Centaurus supercluster.

Supercúmulo India-Pavo.

The Southern Supercluster includes the Eridanus, Dorado, and Fornax Cluster (S373) clouds.

Laniakea is not gravitationally bound, meaning it will disperse rather than remain as an overdensity relative to its environment, as astronomers have discovered. Astronomers predict that Laniakea will be torn apart by dark energy, unlike the clusters that comprise it.