A bit of cosmic history<\/strong><\/h2>\nA diagram (not to scale) depicting the major milestones in the evolution of the Universe since the Big Bang \u2013 around 13.8 billion years ago. The Universe was initially in a neutral state until light from the first stars started to ionise the hydrogen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOnce upon a time, all matter in the entire Universe was tightly packed in one infinitely small, infinitely dense singularity.<\/p>
Then the Big Bang<\/a> happened, and all of a sudden there matter was, spilling about all over the place.<\/p> Fast forward 13.8 billion years or so, and that matter is spread across a Universe so large that it hurts most people\u2019s brains to think about it for too long.<\/p>
Crucially, though, matter is not distributed evenly.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/04\/Planck_CMB-07a1b86-e1597141466232.jpg\")
The Cosmic Microwave Background – heat left over from the Big Bang – when the Universe was just 380,000 years old, seen by the Planck Telescope. It shows temperature fluctuations corresponding to regions of different densities: the seeds that grew into the stars and galaxies of today. Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFrom stars to superclusters<\/strong><\/h2> Thanks to gravity<\/a>, matter clumps together to form stars and planets, which in turn clump together to form galaxies<\/a>.<\/p> And the clumping doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>
Galaxies themselves clump together to form galaxy groups or clusters<\/a>, which clump together to form superclusters, some of the biggest objects in the Universe<\/a>.<\/p> There could be around 10 million superclusters, accounting between them for pretty much all the matter in the observable Universe.<\/p>
The existence of superclusters was first posited by French astronomer G\u00e9rard Henri de Vaucouleurs in the 1950s.<\/p>
The idea was confirmed by large-scale space surveys conducted in the late 70s\/early 80s.<\/p>
By 1982 Canadian-American astronomer R Brent Tully was able to describe the Virgo Supercluster\u2019s basic size and shape.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/Laniakea-supercluster-d05a767.png\")
A map of superclusters, with Laniakea indicated in yellow. Credit: Richard Powell \/ Wiki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Virgo Supercluster, our cosmic abode<\/strong><\/h2> The supercluster that Earth calls home is the Virgo Supercluster, which has a diameter of 110 million lightyears.<\/p>
Within it are found around 100 galaxy groups and clusters, the largest of which are the Virgo Cluster and Local Group<\/a>.<\/p> The Local Group is so named because it\u2019s where you\u2019ll find both our own Milky Way.<\/p>
Once upon a time, all matter in the entire Universe was tightly packed in one infinitely small, infinitely dense singularity.<\/p>
Then the Big Bang<\/a> happened, and all of a sudden there matter was, spilling about all over the place.<\/p> Fast forward 13.8 billion years or so, and that matter is spread across a Universe so large that it hurts most people\u2019s brains to think about it for too long.<\/p> Crucially, though, matter is not distributed evenly.<\/p>\n Thanks to gravity<\/a>, matter clumps together to form stars and planets, which in turn clump together to form galaxies<\/a>.<\/p> And the clumping doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p> Galaxies themselves clump together to form galaxy groups or clusters<\/a>, which clump together to form superclusters, some of the biggest objects in the Universe<\/a>.<\/p> There could be around 10 million superclusters, accounting between them for pretty much all the matter in the observable Universe.<\/p> The existence of superclusters was first posited by French astronomer G\u00e9rard Henri de Vaucouleurs in the 1950s.<\/p> The idea was confirmed by large-scale space surveys conducted in the late 70s\/early 80s.<\/p> By 1982 Canadian-American astronomer R Brent Tully was able to describe the Virgo Supercluster\u2019s basic size and shape.<\/p>\n The supercluster that Earth calls home is the Virgo Supercluster, which has a diameter of 110 million lightyears.<\/p> Within it are found around 100 galaxy groups and clusters, the largest of which are the Virgo Cluster and Local Group<\/a>.<\/p> The Local Group is so named because it\u2019s where you\u2019ll find both our own Milky Way.<\/p> From stars to superclusters<\/strong><\/h2>
The Virgo Supercluster, our cosmic abode<\/strong><\/h2>