"Astounding Revelation Unveiled: Mapping 8,000 Galaxies amidst Billions Yields an Extraordinary Discovery!"

Embarking on a cosmic journey of exploration, our growing realization of the universe's enigmatic nature becomes evident. A striking example lies in our quest to comprehend the vastness of galaxies. Astonishingly, the precise count of these celestial entities remains elusive, despite a widely held belief that approximately 200,000 billion galaxies grace the expanses of the known universe. Our quest for knowledge unfolds against the backdrop of boundless mysteries, urging us to unravel the secrets that lie beyond.

However, it's important to note that our understanding of the universe is limited since we have only observed a small fraction of it. This means that the number of galaxies could be much higher than we currently know. To put things into perspective, our own galaxy, the Milky Way, contains a staggering 400 billion stars, and the sheer number of planets orbiting those stars is beyond our imagination.

Moreover, the Milky Way galaxy itself is immense. It has a diameter of 105,000 light-years, which is equivalent to about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers or roughly 621,371,000,000,000,000 miles. In simpler terms, the Milky Way is an incredibly vast place, and accurately mapping its entirety will require advanced technology and extensive research.

Nonetheless, scientists haven't been idle. They have actively begun charting the physical layout of the Milky Way within the cosmos. By studying data gathered from over 8,000 galaxies near the Milky Way, they have gained a much better understanding of our cosmic location and the structure of our galactic home.

Scientists have made an extraordinary achievement by creating a map that shows how each galaxy moves and its position in space. Through this endeavor, they made a remarkable discovery: our own Milky Way galaxy is not alone but belongs to a vast system called a supercluster. This supercluster, known as Laniakea, encompasses thousands of other galaxies.

The researchers have revealed that Laniakea, the cosmic structure to which the Milky Way belongs, stretches over an incredible distance of 500 million light-years. Within this vast expanse, there are approximately 100,000,000,000,000,000 stars scattered among 100,000 to 150,000 galaxies. To accomplish this feat, scientists employed radio telescopes to track the movements of numerous nearby galaxies, enabling them to uncover this awe-inspiring cosmic arrangement. 

The name "laniakea" comes from the Hawaiian language and signifies something vast and heavenly. It combines "lani," which means "heaven," with "ākea," which means "spacious" or "immeasurable." The Laniakea Supercluster, based on the latest information, consists of about 100,000 galaxies that are spread out over a distance of 160 megaparsecs (equivalent to 520 million light-years).

This immense structure can be further divided into four smaller parts, which were previously recognized as separate superclusters:

The Milky Way is located within the Virgo Supercluster.

Supercluster Hydra-Centaurus

Laniakea’s core gravitational point, near Norma, is known as the Great Attractor.

Hydra Supercluster, also known as Antlia Wall.

Centaurus Supercluster is a supercluster in the constellation Centaurus.

Supercluster Pavo-Indus.

The Fornax Cluster (S373), Dorado, and Eridanus clouds are all part of the Southern Supercluster.

Scientists have found out that Laniakea, despite its vast size, is not held together by gravity. This means that it will eventually disperse instead of staying as a denser region compared to its surrounding space. Unlike the smaller clusters that make up Laniakea, the entire supercluster is expected to be torn apart by dark energy, as explained by astronomers.