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Getting to know the galactic neighbours

Astronomers make startling discoveries in our own back yard.

Astronomers are beginning to realize that we don't know our cosmic neighbourhood very well after all. Some of the galaxies next door to our very own Milky Way are speeding past us so fast that they threaten to rewrite the textbooks, whereas others are so teeny that they may deserve the entirely new name of 'hobbit' galaxies.

Read the story here.

Posted by Nicola Jones on January 10, 2007 05:59 PM |

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There is a lot more left in the Universe to be discovered. New technological advances will help us to know our cosmic backyard well in this century.

Posted by: Dr A.Rajagopal Kamath | February 24, 2007 05:18 PM

There is a lot more left in the Universe to be discovered

yes this is true...

Posted by: Oyunlar | October 24, 2007 12:34 PM

The idea that our universe is even bigger than what we have percieved now is really thrilling. The present understanding is that the universe is around 1370 light years big. It originated 14- 15 billion years ago in an explosion like event what we call a big bang. This idea has got evidence in the form of Cosmic microwave backgraound radiation which still persists in all parts of the universe. Our galactic neighbourhood is very vast. We don't even know a bit of that. What we know is there is group of galaxies called the local group with aroung 4o galactic neighbours of milkyway. They say that there is a great galactic wall around 300-500 light years from milkyway. The objects beyond that are not percievable. We have identified quasars but there may be even more exotic objects there. Universe is a much bigger place. The universe we know is a bit of the much larger universe.

Posted by: A.Rajagopal Kamath | April 27, 2008 12:48 PM

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