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Void (astronomy)

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In astronomy, voids are the empty spaces between filaments, the largest-scale structures in the Universe that contain hardly any, or no galaxies. Voids typically have a diameter of 11 to 150 Mpc; particularly large voids, defined by the absence of rich superclusters, are sometimes called supervoids.

A 1994 census ("The structure of the Universe traced by rich clusters of galaxies.", see References) lists a total of 27 supervoids with a distance of up to 740 Mpc; a selection is given below:

# Name Distance (Mpc) Diameter (Mpc)
1 188 124
5 182 130
9 Southern Local Supervoid 135 158
18 168 144
19 168 152
20 Bootes void 304 110
21 201 163
24 Northern Local Supervoid 86 146

References

  • U. Lindner, J. Einasto, M. Einasto, W. Freudling, K. Fricke, E. Tago: The structure of supervoids. I. Void hierarchy in the Northern Local Supervoid., Astron. Astrophys., v.301, p.329 (1995)
  • M. Einasto, J. Einasto, E. Tago, G. B. Dalton, H Andernach: The structure of the Universe traced by rich clusters of galaxies., Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 269, 301 (1994)