The Known Universe

This video simulation takes you further and further away from Earth as you see the Sun come into focus, the orbits of the solar system shrink smaller and disappear, the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpio stretch and distort, and, as the Milky Way receeds, the spidery structure of millions of other galaxies come into view. Then, you reach the limit of the observable universe, the afterglow of the Big Bang. This light has taken more than 13.7 billion years to reach our planet. Finally it returns the viewer back to Earth, to two lakes that are nestled between Mount Kailash and Mount Gurla Mandhata in the Himalayas. This link is in HD so it may pay to pause and allow the data to download first. Don't forget to expand the video to fullscreen.

The structure of The Known Universe is based on precise, scientifically-accurate observations and research. The Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History maintains the Digital Universe Atlas, believed to be the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe.