Laniakea, An Immeasurable Heaven
Scientists have recently made a breakthrough in the knowledge of the organization of the heavens within our universe. It has long been known that galaxies grouped together in clusters or even larger groups of clusters called superclusters, but at times, these were not precisely defined. But now, in unprecedented detail, scientists have mapped our local cluster and its location within an extremely large supercluster appropriately named Laniakea. Laniakea means immeasurable heaven in Hawaiian. Indeed, the vast structure is one of the largest in the universe. Additionally, there is another one of its kind nearby called Perseus-Pisces.
These large superclusters are composed of clusters comprising galaxies, massive collections of stars. The stars of the universe are not haphazardly located, but rather part of an intricate network that is physically primarily dictated by gravitational forces. There can exist a network edge where there is a direct gravitational relationship between two celestial bodies, whether they are planets, stars, galaxies, clusters, or even superclusters. This forms the connection between these nodes within the universe.
When examining the image of Laniakea, one notices the direction and patterns of its arms, or clusters. These arms can be seen as a component of interconnected nodes, which are, in this case, galaxies. Galaxies are components comprising many stars interacting with each other through gravity. These components can go down further in the hierarchy of the laws of physical attraction. It should thus be noted that the final component (Laniakea) is made up of components that are made up of components as well. This order of hierarchy is recursive and continues further down along the line.
When scientists mapped out these immeasurable heavens, it became apparent that every node within the universe was somehow related to another, especially in a hierarchical sense. Laws of nature connect these nodes into an intricate, vast network that contain many sub-networks.
http://www.space.com/27016-galaxy-supercluster-laniakea-milky-way-home.html