Astronomers Find 58 Galaxies Hiding Behind the Milky Way

Astronomers have been looking at the "Zone of Avoidance" which is an area of about 15% of the night sky blocked from view due to the Milky Way's bulging center , dust ,gas and other stuff make the region unobservable by optical means but infrared telescopes have delivered some data that upon closer inspection appear to show an 'extragalactic structure' hidden by our central bulge.

Astronomers working on the data acquired by the Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy in Chile of our central bulge have released their findings for peer review that suggest the 'extragalactic structure' is in fact a Galaxy cluster containing 58 or more Galaxies that has been avoiding our gaze in the Zone of Avoidance .... appropriately enough.

Sounds like another job for James Webb , Space detective.

Located approximately 3 billion light-years from Earth, the mysterious structure appears to be a large cluster of galaxies drawn together by a shared center of gravity. Using observations from the VVV Survey — a survey that studies the Milky Way's central bulge at infrared wavelengths using the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy in Chile — the study authors found evidence of at least 58 galaxies bundled together in a small plot of the zone of avoidance.

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally-bound objects in the universe; the largest known clusters contain hundreds of thousands of galaxies bunched together. Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell just how wide or massive the newly discovered cluster is, given the vast distances and myriad obstructions sitting between the cluster's stars and Earth.

However, the mere detection of this colossal object shows that the zone of avoidance may not be as inscrutable as was once thought. Future infrared studies — including potential observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, which has already used its infrared camera to take the deepest image of the universe to date — should further help scientists unlock the hidden secrets beyond the Milky Way's bulge.
www.livescience.com...

a reply to: gortex


You know, it seems like every time we revisit or deeply scrutinize space we discover that haven't even scratched the surface of the information that we don't know. Thanks for keeping an eye out.

Astronomy is one of the few remaining disciplines of science that has yet to plumet into the "consensus" pit. Let's hope it never does.

There must be multitudes of things behind things out there. Even as a the poster above me mentions scratching the surface that's putting it extremely mildly.

My God! How big is just this local point in this mass unknown limit of the depths of the universe.

a reply to: gortex

Yet another great find, thanks.

a reply to: Maxmars

You know, it seems like every time we revisit or deeply scrutinize space we discover that haven't even scratched the surface of the information that we don't know

Same happened anytime we looked inward. It seems when we use tools to look closer, we just keep finding more, the closer we look.

a reply to: gortex

are those galaxy's close enough to each other for physics to someday allow travel between them at less than light speed traveling?

To be clear I mean travel between them not between us and them.

a reply to: Maxmars

My theory is that we and everything that we have so far observed is actual all microscopic.

We haven't even gotten close to seeing the greater universe yet.

And that there is an even greater universe above that.

The total truth is that the universe is a mandelbrot fractal. tenor.com... Infinitely large and small with each part containing all parts.
There are oxygen atoms the size of planets and ones so much smaller than what we call microscopic that we will never be able to see them.
Just like there's a view barrier to what we call the observable universe www.youtube.com... so to is there a size barrier. Things so small or large that physics will not allow for us to see them. Not even allowing us to be able to invent a machine that can see them.

Our sun is the object that gives the greater universes atoms there energy. And the greater universes stars do the same for the greater universe above that.

a reply to: scraedtosleep

are those galaxy's close enough to each other for physics to someday allow travel between them at less than light speed traveling?

I doubt it , they would have to be quite far apart to avoid collapsing in on each other but it would probably make for an interesting night sky on the planets in the cluster.

a reply to: scraedtosleep

Well, from a perspective viewpoint we are infinitesimal.

What we know is infinitesimal compared with what we don't know.

That we are looking and sharing gives me great hope.

originally posted by: Maxmars
a reply to: scraedtosleep

Well, from a perspective viewpoint we are infinitesimal.

True, but even an infinitesimal part of something grand can itself still be grand.

Nice topic.

Everytime I read about space, and new discoveries. It always reminds me of how small we are and how little we know.
I've got a mate of mine who says their is no such thing as life on other planets, he 100% believes that we're the only ones. The odds on that being true get smaller everytime there's a new article posted and we read about it.

Hopefully one day we will have more efficient space travel that actually let's mankind escape the boundaries of our own solar system.

a reply to: Ilikesecrets

Just think this: And WE are the multitudes of things behind something else!

Mind boggling.