Introduction to Astronomy September 2026

Large Scale Structure of the Universe

This evening, Chris Benton will discuss how the Universe is structured on large scales. Starting with our location in the Milky Way, we move out through the Local Group into the Virgo and Laniakea Superclusters of galaxies and beyond to reveal the large-scale structures of the Universe, as shown in a video travelling through space made from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data on observed galaxy positions and distances. Come and learn about the most recently discovered structures involving observations of Gamma Ray Bursts and distant quasars, and how they fit in with what we know about the cosmos on grand scales.