Recent computer simulations by astronomers at the University of Groningen reveal that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are embedded within a large, flat sheet of dark matter, surrounded by vast voids. This unique mass distribution explains the observed motions of nearby galaxies – most are moving away from us, consistent with the Hubble-Lemaître law, while Andromeda moves towards us. The simulations, built upon observations of the early universe and validated against the characteristics of the Local Group, provide the first assessment of dark matter distribution around our galactic neighborhood and offer a solution to a decades-old puzzle in cosmology. This “flat” arrangement counteracts the gravitational pull of the Local Group for galaxies within the sheet and explains the absence of galaxies in the surrounding voids.
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