A supercluster is a large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups;[1] it is among the largest-known structures of the cosmos. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy group (which contains more than 54 galaxies), which in turn is part of the Laniakea Supercluster.[2] This supercluster spans over 500 million light-years, while the Local Group spans over 10 million light-years.[1] The number of superclusters in the observable universe is estimated to be 10 million.[3]
Galaxies are grouped into clusters instead of being dispersed randomly. Clusters of galaxies, in turn, are grouped together to form superclusters. Typically, superclusters contain dozens of individual clusters throughout an area of space about 150 million light-years across. Unlike clusters, most superclusters are not bound together by gravity. The component clusters are generally shifting away from each other due to the Hubble flow.
The Milky Way galaxy falls within the Local Group, which is a poor and irregular cluster of galaxies. Poor clusters may contain only a few dozen galaxies, as compared to rich clusters with hundreds or even thousands. The Local Group is in the Local Supercluster (also known as the Virgo Supercluster), which has a diameter of 100 million light-years. The Local Supercluster contains a total of about 1015 times the mass of the Sun and in turn makes up an even bigger supercluster called Laniakea, as revealed by a 2014 study.
The biggest cluster in the observable universe is called the Great Attractor. Its gravity is so strong that the Local Supercluster, including the Milky Way, is moving in a direction towards it at a rate of several hundred kilometers per second. Speeds at this cosmic scale are measured relative to the Hubble flow frame of reference. The biggest supercluster outside the local universe is the Perseus–Pegasus Filament. It contains the Perseus supercluster and it spans about a billion light-years, making it one of the largest known structures in the universe.
Existence
The Abell 901/902 supercluster is located a little over two billion light-years from Earth.[5]
The existence of superclusters indicates that the galaxies in the Universe are not uniformly distributed; most of them are drawn together in groups and clusters, with groups containing up to some dozens of galaxies and clusters up to several thousand galaxies. Those groups and clusters and additional isolated galaxies in turn form even larger structures called superclusters.
Their existence was first postulated by George Abell in his 1958 Abell catalogue of galaxy clusters. He called them "second-order clusters", or clusters of clusters.[6]
Superclusters form massive structures of galaxies, called "filaments", "supercluster complexes", "walls" or "sheets", that may span between several hundred million light-years to 10 billion light-years, covering more than 5% of the observable universe. These are the largest known structures to date. Observations of superclusters can give information about the initial condition of the universe, when these superclusters were created. The directions of the rotational axes of galaxies within superclusters may also give insight and information into the early formation process of galaxies in the history of the Universe.
Interspersed among superclusters are large voids of space where few galaxies exist. Superclusters are frequently subdivided into groups of clusters called galaxy groups and clusters.
List of superclustersEdit
Galaxy superclusterDataNotes
Laniakea Supercluster
z = 0.000
Length = 153 Mpc (500 million light-years)
The Laniakea Supercluster is the supercluster that contains the Virgo Cluster, Local Group, and by extension on the latter, our galaxy; the Milky Way.[2]
Virgo Supercluster
z= 0.000
Length = 33 Mpc (110 million light-years)
It contains the Local Group with our galaxy, the Milky Way. It also contains the Virgo Cluster near its center, and is sometimes called the Local Supercluster. It is thought to contain over 47,000 galaxies.
In 2014, the newly announced Laniakea Supercluster subsumed the Virgo Supercluster, which became a component of the new supercluster.[8]
Hydra-Centaurus SuperclusterIt is composed of two lobes, sometimes also referred to as superclusters, or sometimes the entire supercluster is referred to by these other two names
Hydra Supercluster
Centaurus Supercluster
In 2014, the newly announced Laniakea Supercluster subsumed the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster, which became a component of the new supercluster.[8]
Pavo-Indus Supercluster
In 2014, the newly announced Laniakea Supercluster subsumed the Pavo-Indus Supercluster, which became a component of the new supercluster.[8]
Southern Supercluster
Includes Fornax Cluster (S373), Dorado and Eridanus clouds.
Saraswati SuperclusterDistance = 4000 Million light years (1.2 Gigaparsecs)
Length = 652 Million Light-year
The Saraswati Supercluster consists of 43 massive galaxy clusters such as Abell 2361 and has a mass of about 2 x 1016 and is seen in the Pisces constellation.
Nearby superclustersEdit
Galaxy superclusterDataNotes
Perseus-Pisces Supercluster
Coma SuperclusterForms most of the CfA Homunculus, the center of the CfA2 Great Wall galaxy filament
Sculptor SuperclustersSCl 9
Hercules SuperclustersSCl 160
Leo SuperclusterSCl 93
Ophiuchus Supercluster
17h 10m −22°
cz=8500–9000 km/s (centre)
18 Mpc x 26 Mpc
Forming the far wall of the Ophiuchus Void, it may be connected in a filament, with the Pavo-Indus-Telescopium Supercluster and the Hercules Supercluster. This supercluster is centered on the cD cluster Ophiuchus Cluster, and has at least two more galaxy clusters, four more galaxy groups, several field galaxies, as members.[9]
Shapley Supercluster
z=0.046.(650 Mly away)
The second supercluster found, after the Local Supercluster.
Distant superclustersEdit
Galaxy superclusterDataNotes
Pisces-Cetus Supercluster
Boötes SuperclusterSCl 138
Horologium Supercluster
z=0.063 (700 Mly)
Length = 550 Mly
The entire supercluster is referred to as the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster
Corona Borealis Supercluster
z=0.07[10]
Columba Supercluster
Aquarius Supercluster
Aquarius B Supercluster
Aquarius-Capricornus Supercluster
Aquarius-Cetus Supercluster
Bootes A Supercluster
Caelum Supercluster
z=0.126 (1.4 Gly)
Length = 910 Mly
The largest galaxy supercluster
Draco Supercluster
Draco-Ursa Major Supercluster
Fornax-Eridanus Supercluster
Grus Supercluster
Leo A Supercluster
Leo-Sextans Supercluster
Leo-Virgo SuperclusterSCl 107
Microscopium SuperclusterSCl 174
Pegasus-Pisces SuperclusterSCl 3
Perseus-Pisces SuperclusterSCl 40
Pisces-Aries Supercluster
Ursa Majoris Supercluster
Virgo-Coma SuperclusterSCl 111
Incredibly distant superclustersEdit
Galaxy superclusterDataNotes
Lynx Superclusterz=1.27Discovered in 1999[11] (as ClG J0848+4453, a name now used to describe the western cluster, with ClG J0849+4452 being the eastern one),[12] it contains at least two clusters RXJ 0848.9+4452 (z=1.26) and RXJ 0848.6+4453 (z=1.27) . At the time of discovery, it became the most distant known supercluster.[13] Additionally, seven smaller groups of galaxies are associated with the supercluster.[14]
SCL @ 1338+27 at z=1.1
z=1.1
Length=70Mpc
A rich supercluster with several galaxy clusters was discovered around an unusual concentration of 23 QSOs at z=1.1 in 2001. The size of the complex of clusters may indicate a wall of galaxies exists there, instead of a single supercluster. The size discovered approaches the size of the CfA2 Great Wall filament. At the time of the discovery, it was the largest and most distant supercluster beyond z=0.5 [15][16]
SCL @ 1604+43 at z=0.9z=0.91This supercluster at the time of its discovery was the largest supercluster found so deep into space, in 2000. It consisted of two known rich clusters and one newly discovered cluster as a result of the study that discovered it. The then known clusters were Cl 1604+4304 (z=0.897) and Cl 1604+4321 (z=0.924), which then known to have 21 and 42 known galaxies respectively. The then newly discovered cluster was located at 16h 04m 25.7s, +43° 14′ 44.7″[17]
SCL @ 0018+16 at z=0.54 in SA26z=0.54This supercluster lies around radio galaxy 54W084C (z=0.544) and is composed of at least three large clusters, CL 0016+16 (z=0.5455), RX J0018.3+1618 (z=0.5506), RX J0018.8+1602 .[18]
MS 0302+17
z=0.42
Length=6Mpc
This supercluster has at least three member clusters, the eastern cluster CL 0303+1706, southern cluster MS 0302+1659 and northern cluster MS 0302+1717.[1
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