Astronomers have unveiled the most complete 3D map of our local universe ever created – a rather fetching collection of colored dots stretching out to a distance of 380 million light-years. It’s taken more than ten years to complete, but the 2MASS Redshift Survey was worth the effort because it takes us closer to the Galactic plane (a region that’s generally obscured by dust) than previous surveys.It also reveals areas that were previously hidden behind our Milky Way, which should help researchers better understand the impact such cosmic features have on the way our galaxy moves in space. The motion of the Milky Way with respect to the rest of the universe has been a puzzle ever since astronomers were first able to measure it – in fact they found it couldn’t be explained by the gravitational attraction from any visible matter. Massive local structures, like the Hydra-Centaurus region (the Great Attractor) were previously hard to study but are now shown in great detail by the new map.Click here for the full release and high-res image
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