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Astronomy: Spacemap from the Virgo Supercluster
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<< Zoom In | >> Zoom Out Next to Clusters of galaxies like the Local Group of galaxies, there are Superclusters which contain thousands of galaxies. The galaxies in these Superclusters are grouped in clusters, walls and sheets, with between them big voids of empty space. An example of a Supercluster is the Virgo Supercluster, a region approximately 100 million light-years wide. Our Sun, Milky Way Galaxy and the Local Group of galaxies are in fact part of the Virgo Supercluster. During the late 1990s it was discovered that the Local Group of galaxies is attracted by a region with enormous mass. This region is referred to as the Great Attractor and studies have shown that the Centaurus Wall and the Norma Cluster have a great gravitational pull on the Local Group of galaxies. In time this pull will stop the process of recession of our region and pull us towards it (download research findings of the Great Attractor in "Astronomy and Astrophysics" nr 352 page 39-48; PDF 1 MB). |
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Our Milky Way Galaxy is part of the Local Group of galaxies. The Local Group is part of the Virgo Supercluster, a region of 100 million light-years wide.
Superclusters near our Virgo Supercluster.
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