A new study brings further proof that the Milky Way is residing in a huge void in the Cosmos.
Back in 2013, three scientists claimed that the Milky Way, Earth’s home galaxy is located in a huge void in the “Swiss cheese” that is the Universe. Now, a new paper brings further proof as to their claims and strengthens this theory.
The structure of the Universe was likened to that of a Swiss cheese and very importantly, its holes. The still very mysterious and unobserved dark energy and matter were assimilated to the solid parts. In return, visible matter is seemingly contained by the “holes”, which account for around 5 percent of the total. Also, the filaments in space were described as being ‘veins between the holes’.
When talking about the Cosmos, these holes started being called voids, and scientists pointed out the many differences in matter between them. Some are densely packed, for example, the regions hosting the brightest galaxies. Others, seemingly like our very own, are less filled.
We Are Living in A Huge Void in Space
The huge void in which our galaxies resides is known as the KBC. This is short for Ryan Keenan, Amy Barger, and Lennox Cowie, the three scientists which showed where our galaxy stands in the Universe.
Now, a new study offers further evidence as to their claims of living inside KBC. It could also help reduce the reduce or cut the variations among the Hubble Constant’s different measurements. This is the agreed upon unit which helps describe the expansion rate of the Universe.
The new research is the work of Ben Hoscheit, a University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduate student under Barger. He presented his results during the 230th spring meeting of the American Astronomical Society on June 06.
Based on the 2013 and the new study, KBC is believed to have a radius of around 1 billion light-years. This makes it about seven times bigger than the median void. Also, KBC is as yet the largest known void.
Shaped like a sphere, it has a thickening shell made out of stars, galaxies, and other types of matter.
According to the scientists, the new findings could help explain the estimate difference registered when using different universe expansion rate techniques.
No matter what technique you use, you should get the same value for the expansion rate of the universe today,” stated Hoscheit.
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