LOCAL SUPERCLUSTERS
LOCAL SUPERCLUSTERS
Superclusters constitute the largest structures in the Universe. They are unfathomably massive. Despite this, there are about 10 million superclusters in the observable Universe. In addition to our own Virgo Supercluster, some other Local Superclusters include the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster, the Coma Supercluster and the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster.
Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster
Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster
The Norma Cluster is a part of the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster.
Image credit: ESO.
Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster Facts
Distance from Earth: 1,770,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometres (1 sextillion, 770 quintillion kilometres), or 1,100,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles (1 sextillion, 100 quintillion miles)
Number of Galaxy Clusters: At least 6
Coma Supercluster
Coma Supercluster
The Coma Cluster, is a part of the Coma Supercluster, and appears very close to the North Galactic Pole of the sky. This means, it appears almost directly over the Earth's North Pole.
Image credit: SDSS and Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA
Coma Supercluster Facts
Distance from Earth: 2,830,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometres (2 sextillion, 830 quintillion kilometres), or 1,760,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles (1 sextillion, 760 quintillion miles)
Number of Galaxies: About 3,000 (3 thousand)
Perseus-Pisces Supercluster
Perseus-Pisces Supercluster
The Perseus-Pisces Supercluster, is one of the largest known structures in the Universe. The image shows the Perseus Cluster (Abell 426), which is one of the clusters making up the Supercluster.
Image credit: David Chifiriuc.
Perseus-Pisces Supercluster Facts
Distance from Earth: 2,360,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometres (2 sextillion, 360 quintillion kilometres), or 1,466,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles (1 sextillion, 466 quintillion miles)
Number of Galaxies: Many thousands