universityofcapetown
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Massive galaxy cluster found 'hiding' behind the Milky Way
You would think that it would be easy to spot a cosmic structure as enormous as a supercluster holding legions of galaxies, but not so -- the Milky Way can hide all kinds of objects, usually due to dust and stars obscuring the view. If you need proof, you just need to ask the astronomers who have discovered the Vela supercluster, a giant collection of galaxies about 800 million light years away (shown as "VSC" above). They only detected it by making "thousands" of spectroscopic studies of partially obscured galaxies -- it was hidden on the far side of the Milky Way.
Jumping robot uses safety tethers to control its fall
Spiders don't typically jump off ledges without some sort of plan. Many species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) will affix themselves to their perch with a silken thread that acts as a safety tether. Researchers at the University of Cape Town in South Africa have given their own robotic "spider" a similar capability.
