Guided sky tour · 8 stops · about 2 minutes

Our cosmic address

From the middle of the Milky Way out to our supercluster and the first quasar ever found.

Take it on the live map

Sit back: it plays by itself. Space pauses, ← → move, reads it aloud.

Sagittarius A*: a sky-survey photograph of its field

Sagittarius A* · 26,000 light-years

Stop 1 of 8

Home galaxy

The Sun is one of some 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, about 26,000 light-years from its centre, which lies here, behind the star clouds of Sagittarius. The Sun takes about 230 million years to go round it once.

26,000 light-years light left 26,000 years ago

Explore it on the map Sagittarius A*'s page

Large Magellanic Cloud: a sky-survey photograph of its field

Large Magellanic Cloud · 160,000 light-years

Stop 2 of 8

A galaxy that orbits ours

The Large Magellanic Cloud, 160,000 light-years away, is one of dozens of small galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. From the southern hemisphere it is easy to see without a telescope.

160,000 light-years light left 160,000 years ago

Explore it on the map Large Magellanic Cloud's page

Andromeda Galaxy (M31): a sky-survey photograph of its field

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) · 2.5 million light-years

Stop 3 of 8

Our big neighbour

Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away, is the biggest galaxy in our Local Group. It is coming towards us at about 110 km/s; the two galaxies will start to merge in roughly 4 to 5 billion years.

2.5 million light-years light left 2.5 million years ago

Explore it on the map Andromeda Galaxy (M31)'s page

Triangulum Galaxy (M33): a sky-survey photograph of its field

Triangulum Galaxy (M33) · 2.7 million light-years

Stop 4 of 8

The third spiral

Triangulum, about 2.7 million light-years away, is the third large galaxy of the Local Group. Under a very dark sky it is one of the most distant things the eye can see.

2.7 million light-years light left 2.7 million years ago

Explore it on the map Triangulum Galaxy (M33)'s page

Virgo Cluster: a sky-survey photograph of its field

Virgo Cluster · 54 million light-years

Stop 5 of 8

The heart of our supercluster

The Local Group lies on the edge of a much bigger crowd: the Virgo Cluster, more than a thousand galaxies about 54 million light-years away.

54 million light-years light left 54 million years ago

Explore it on the map Virgo Cluster's page

Coma Cluster: a sky-survey photograph of its field

Coma Cluster · 320 million light-years

Stop 6 of 8

Where dark matter was first noticed

In the Coma Cluster, 320 million light-years away, Fritz Zwicky saw in 1933 that the galaxies move far too fast to be held together by what we can see: the first hint of dark matter.

320 million light-years light left 320 million years ago

Explore it on the map Coma Cluster's page

The Great Attractor (Norma Cluster): a sky-survey photograph of its field

The Great Attractor (Norma Cluster) · 250 million light-years

Stop 7 of 8

Laniakea and the Great Attractor

All of this belongs to Laniakea, a supercluster of about 100,000 galaxies, 520 million light-years across. Its galaxies flow towards the Great Attractor, here, half hidden behind the dust of the Milky Way.

250 million light-years light left 250 million years ago

Explore it on the map

3C 273: a sky-survey photograph of its field

3C 273 · 2.4 billion light-years

Stop 8 of 8

Far beyond

3C 273, the first quasar ever identified (1963), is 2.4 billion light-years away yet the brightest quasar in our sky. The light we see from it left before there were animals on Earth.

2.4 billion light-years light left 2.4 billion years ago

Explore it on the map 3C 273's page

Tour complete

Our cosmic address

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