A better call would have been "nearby part of the universe", with "the" being the most important word that should not have been left out. It may not have been a

A better call would have been "nearby part of the universe", with "the" being the most important word that should not have been left out. It may not have been as terse/catchy as "nearby universe", but it would not have strayed into controversy (the kind of which we see here).