It's crazy to think about, but the Milky Way galaxy is insignificantly-small compared to the rest of the universe. What's more is the Milky Way might reside in the center of a giant cosmic void - one of the largest known.
As you explore the universe, you find clusters of filaments and pockets of empty voids between them. Most galaxies reside inside of these filaments, but strangely enough, the Milky Way seems to be right smack in the middle of one of these voids.
Although it's a tranquil place for the Milky Way to reside, voids like these can have implications for how astronomers observe the universe. For example, gravitational forces originating from the surrounding filaments could influence how we calculate universe expansion or the distance of other stars from Earth.
Astronomers also seem to think that, as a direct result of residing inside of a cosmic void, Earth has darker skies than planets from other galaxies might have.
There's still much to learn about the universe, but advancements in space observation technology are underway that will help us answer the many questions that we have. It should be interesting to see if we're still asking the same questions we are now in just five more short years.
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OCT 18, 2017