Additional media for the Letter: The Unusual Milky Way-Local Sheet System: Implications for Spin Strength and Alignment
This page contains a VR/interactive map of the Local Universe additional high resolution images and a link to an animation of the Local Sheet.
Interactive / VR visualization of the Local Sheet / Local Universe
Below is an interactive map of the Local Sheet around the Milky Way and extending up to the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. You can watch it on VR where you can look around from the point of view of our galaxy. Spheres represent galaxies colored with the density of matter and scaled with their size. The three circles centered on the Milky Way indicate distances of 1,3 and 5 Mpc. The large purple sphere on top represents the Local Void. Some well known structures are labeled.
Important instructions for desktop inspector
In a desktop computer you can enter an "inspector" mode which gives you more control over the 3D scene. In order to have a correct perspective follow these steps: first click on the VR logo at the bottom-right corner of the image. Then press the following key sequence: <ctrl> + <alt> + i (windows) or <control> + <option> + i (mac). You can now rotate and zoom-in/out with the mouse and scroll wheel.
Below are high resolution images and a link to an animation of the Local Sheet.
A Milky Way Analogue sitting at the center of a flat wall of smaller galaxies (grey spheres). The blue circles indicate distance from the Milky Way Analogue in 1 Mpc intervals. The background image shows the distribution of dark matter (green and blue) and galaxies (here seen as tiny yellow dots) in a thin slice of the cubic volume in which we expect to find one of such rare massive galaxies. Credit: Images: Miguel A. Aragon-Calvo. Simulation data: Illustris TNG project (https://www.illustris-project.org).
A flat wall of galaxies (grey spheres) with a massive Milky Way Analogue at its center. The blue circles indicate distance from the Milky Way Analogue in 1 Mpc intervals. The background image shows a thin slice of the volume in which we expect to find one of such rare massive galaxies. Credit: Images: Miguel A. Aragon-Calvo. Simulation data: Illustris TNG project (https://www.illustris-project.org).
A lonely Milky Way Analogue galaxy, too massive for its wall. The background image shows the distribution of dark matter (green and blue) and galaxies (here seen as tiny yellow dots) in a thin slice of the cubic volume in which we expect to find one of such rare massive galaxies. Credit: Images: Miguel A. Aragon-Calvo. Simulation data: Illustris TNG project (https://www.illustris-project.org).
The Local Sheet of galaxies around the Milky Way.
The Local Sheet, a flat wall of galaxies surrounding the Milky Way (indicated by a spiral pattern). The blue circles indicate distance from the Milky Way in 1 Mpc intervals. Credit: Images: Miguel A. Aragon-Calvo. Simulation data: Illustris TNG project (https://www.illustris-project.org).
A Milky Way Analogue galaxy extracted from the Illustris TNG simulation
A Local Sheet Analogue in the Illustris TNG300 simulation, a flat wall of galaxies surrounding a Milky Way Analogue galaxy (large sphere at the center). The blue circles indicate distance from the central galaxy in 1 Mpc intervals. Credit: Images: Miguel A. Aragon-Calvo. Simulation data: Illustris TNG project (https://www.illustris-project.org).
