 We are either being lied to or nobody knows the truth about anything. In this sense, we are collectively exploring together. What are we looking for when we look at the stars? Our subconscious compels our thoughts of space and the deeper unknown, but can we collectively understand our surroundings in our apparent deep awakening? Wait, do you hear this? There is something happening in space right now that will eventually affect our existence, and guess what? There is nothing at all we can ever do about it. Ever. But the good news is, even though we are being sucked towards this doomsday scenario, we don't actually know what will happen, why it is happening, or even how long it will take to drag us all over towards it. The Great Attractor is thought to be the gravitational center of the Lanakea supercluster, of which the Milky Way is but one of a hundred thousand other galaxies. One theory is that it is a confluence of dark energy. Another is that it might be caused by over density, an area of dense mass with an intense gravitational pull. Whatever it is, it's powerful enough to overcome normal dark energy, the force that's believed to push galaxies on and cause them to pick up speed as they move forward. Dark energy is thought to comprise 71% of the universe. Unfortunately, scientists have no idea what it is. Writing for The Big Think, Philip Perry explains that the phenomena was discovered in the 1970s when astronomers first began making a detailed map of the cosmic microwave background. NASA described the phenomena as the great unknown and it inhabits every part of the farthest reaches of our cosmos evenly. Despite being surprising homogenous, there is a slight temperature variation. It's just a little warmer on one side of the Milky Way than the other, which scientists at the time couldn't account for. The Parker's radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia in the 90s and early 90s, examined the sky with a sensitivity never before seen. An icon of Australian science since 1961, this radio telescope, actually a multi-beam receiver, was upgraded and so able to detect thousands of galaxies we'd otherwise be blind to. Astronomers got a good look at the galaxies close by, as well as a better sense of the makeup of the Milky Way. Further explorations at the Parker's Observatory in the mid-2000s discovered those galaxies in another area of the Milky Way, the one which contains the greater attractor. Although previously we knew there was some anomaly out there, the lion's share of all the data is just now being digested. As a result, the over-density's strength and scope have only recently become apparent. What astronomers know for sure is that our galaxy and all those in our supercluster are headed toward the great attractor. No one really knows what this might mean or if our planet is in any eventual danger. Astronomers say it will take a few years before we know more about this anomaly. Some astronomers don't consider it a threat, while others posit that all galaxies and clusters are clumping into a greater and greater supercluster and that this may be how the universe ends, as part of what's called the Big Crunch. But even if the great attractor doesn't get us, more immediate concerns like nuclear war or giant asteroids colliding with the earth or the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupting, causing an apocalyptic volcanic winter, could potentially extinguish the human race. And if we survive any or all those scenarios, there is always the death of our sun in 8 billion years, or even sooner if no stradamus is to be believed, or maybe the collapse of the Higgs boson field or the eventual heat death of the universe. Still, the greater attractor is perhaps the most mysterious apocalyptic scenario of them all, but what do you guys think about this anyway? Comments below and as always, thank you for watching.