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The Science of the Local Group (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]
“We live in a world that has narrowed into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood.” –Lyndon B. Johnson
When you think of our own cosmic backyard — our planets, Sun, the nearby stars, and even the closest galaxies to us — you probably don’t think of them in the context of the entire Universe. But if you want to understand where we come from and how we got to be this way, perhaps you ought to.
Image credit: J. W. Inman, of NGC 2543, via http://www.jwinman.com/starcharts/NGC%202543%20chart.htm.
We could have been a single, isolated galaxy hanging out all by our lonesome in the void: but we aren’t. We could have been part of a large, rich cluster of galaxies, where the Milky Way was just one of many thousands like us: but we aren’t. Instead, it’s us, Andromeda, and about 50 other, much smaller neighbors, and no one else.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Andrew Z. Colvin.
How did we come to be this way? Find out exactly what we are, and how that fits in to the cosmic story of everything around us. Come learn the science of the Local Group.
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2015/05/12/the-science-of-the-local-group-synopsis/
