Super pile
A supercluster or super galaxy cluster is the name given to gravitationally bound collections of several galaxy clusters . They are among the largest structures that we can recognize in the universe .
Structure and arrangement in the universe
A large-scale observation of the universe shows that galaxies are not evenly distributed, but that the universe has a foam or honeycomb structure. The inside of the honeycomb corresponds to huge empty spaces, the so-called voids . The galaxies group - because of their mutual gravitational attraction - to galaxy clusters around these empty spaces and form the walls of the honeycombs, so to speak.
In the intersections between the honeycombs, the galaxy cluster density is therefore higher and here, again as a result of gravitational attraction, clusters , so-called super clusters , formed. In addition to the filaments connecting them, these are the largest structures discovered in space to date. They can be a few hundred million light years in size and consist of several tens of thousands of galaxies. However, knowledge about the superclusters is still very limited, for example it is not yet clear whether the superclusters are held together by gravity alone or whether they are grouped together from other processes. The influence of dark matter , which can also play a role, is currently the subject of further research. At the moment it can only be assumed that dark matter (around 74% of all matter in the universe) has a significantly greater influence on the formation of superclusters than previously assumed.
Known superclusters
The Milky Way is also part of a supercluster, namely the Laniakea supercluster. Until 2014 it was assumed that it belonged to the Virgo supercluster (also known as the local supercluster ) as the largest participating structure, the center of which is the Virgo galaxy cluster . However, Virgo is only part of Laniakea. In addition to the local group, the local supercluster includes the numerous galaxy groups in the cosmic vicinity of the Milky Way, such as the M81 group and the Sculptor group , which contain the most brighter galaxies.
And the much larger, but six times more distant known Coma Supercluster , where the so-called Great Wall (Engl. Great Wall ) is located. The mightiest supercluster is in the direction of the Horologium constellation ; another is the one named after the astronomer Harlow Shapley , and the so-called Great Attractor . An examination of the environment up to a redshift of z = 0.1 (almost 1.5 billion light years) has revealed about 130 superclusters. The largest superclusters in our vicinity are listed in the table below, where "size" indicates the number of rich galaxy clusters that make up the supercluster:
| Surname | Redshift z | size |
|---|---|---|
| Horologium reticulum | 0.06 | 32 |
| Shapley superclusters | 25th | |
| Pisces-Cetus | 17th | |
| Boats | 12 | |
| Aquarius | 12 | |
| Cetus A | 11 | |
| Corona Borealis | 10 | |
| Hercules | 10 | |
| Aquarius-Cetus | 8th | |
| Grus Indus | 8th | |
| Leo | 0.03 | 8th |
| Lepus | 8th | |
| Aquarius A | 6th | |
| Pegasus Pisces B. | 6th | |
| Hydra Centaurus super clusters | 6th | |
| Aquarius Capricornus | 5 | |
| Pegasus Pisces A | 4th | |
| Perseus-Pegasus A | 4th | |
| Perseus | 3 | |
| Sextans | 3 | |
| Ursa Major | 3 | |
| Perseus-Pegasus B. | 2 | |
| Saraswati superclusters | ||
| Coma | 2 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ M. Einasto, J. Einasto, E. Tago, GB Dalton, H. Andernach: The Structure of the Universe Traced by Rich Clusters of Galaxies. In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. V. 269, no. 2, JUL15, 1994, p. 301. bibcode : 1994MNRAS.269..301E .