Astrophysicists have created a spherical map of galaxy super-clusters that spans nearly two billion light years.

It is the most comprehensive map of the universe that provides an absolute picture of our cosmic neighborhood to date.

The map would help scientists to get insights of how matter is distributed in the universe. It would also provide hints into dark matter, which is one of physics' greatest mysteries.

Professor Mike Hudson of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo said, “The galaxy distribution isn't uniform and has no pattern. It has peaks and valleys much like a mountain range. This is what we expect if the large-scale structure originates from quantum fluctuations in the early universe”.

By knowing the location and the matter in the universe, astrophysicists can predict the universe's expansion and identify where dark matter exists.

A large majority of the mass content in the universe is made up of dark matter. It is a hypothesized form of matter particle that does not reflect or emit light. Thus it can't be seen or measured directly.

The existence and properties of dark matter can only be deduced indirectly through its gravitational effects on visible matter and light.

Scientists have observed that galaxies move differently as the universe's expansion is not even. This happens due to differences are called peculiar velocities. Hudson and his team want to discover what structures are responsible for the peculiar velocities.

Researchers said that our Milky Way galaxy and its neighbour Andromeda are moving with a speed of 2 million kilometers per hour.

According to Hudson, a better understanding of dark matter is very important to understand the formation of galaxies and the structures they live in, such as galaxy clusters, super-clusters and voids.