Local Group



The Local Group is the galaxy cluster in which the Cosmica Universe is set. Comprised of two clusters of galaxies in a "dumbbell" shape: the Milky Way and its satellites forming one lobe, and the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellites constituting the other. The group itself is a part of the larger Virgo Supercluster, which is itself a part of the Laniakea Supercluster.

The two largest members, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy, are both spiral galaxies with masses of about 1012 solar masses each, and each has its own system of satellite galaxies. The Triangulum Galaxy comprises the third-largest galaxy in the Local Group, itself being the smallest of the three spiral galaxies that comprise the galaxy cluster, and its only unbarred spiral member.

The Local Group is still mostly unexplored, though intergalactic travel between its major and minor galaxies has been ongoing for several million years; its sheer size alone has left it highly possible that the entire Local Group will never be fully explored or known, and new alien species, societies, and remnants are being discovered all the time.