While we learned that galaxies are members of
cluster, we now realize that clusters of galaxies
are members of superclusters.Superclusters are
very large and very massive:
- Distribution from 10 to 100 Mpc
- Mass around 100,000,000,000,000,000 times
the Sun (I would use scientific notation here,
but the un-edited number is more dramatic!)
The distribution is believed to be assisted by
dark
matter. Just recently, astronomers from
Australian and United Kingdom performed the
2dFGRS (2 degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey)
which mapped 106,688 galaxies in the
Southern
Hemisphere. This survey demonstrated the
distribution of superclusters:
Our
Local Group is also a part of a supercluster.
Both images are from the Swinburne Astronomy
Online presentation: Exploring the Galaxies and
Cosmos.
Back to Top |
