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Supercluster

Large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups

A supercluster is a large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups; they are among the largest known structures in the universe. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy group (which contains more than 54 galaxies), which in turn is part of the Virgo Supercluster, which is part of the Laniakea Supercluster, which is part of the Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex. The large size and low density of superclusters means that most of them, unlike clusters, expand with the Hubble expansion. The number of superclusters in the observable universe is estimated to be 10 million.

Existence

The existence of superclusters indicates that the galaxies in the Universe are not uniformly distributed; most of them are drawn together in groups and clusters, with groups containing up to some dozens of galaxies and clusters up to several thousand galaxies. Those groups and clusters and additional isolated galaxies in turn form even larger structures called superclusters.[[File:An Intergalactic Heavyweight.jpg|thumb|left|The Abell 901/902 supercluster is located a little over two billion light-years from Earth.|200x200px]]

Their existence was first postulated by George Abell in his 1958 Abell catalogue of galaxy clusters. He called them "second-order clusters", or clusters of clusters.

Superclusters form massive structures of galaxies, called "filaments", "supercluster complexes", "hyperclusters", "chains", "strands", "superstructures", "walls" or "sheets", that may span between several hundred million light-years to 10 billion light-years, covering more than 5% of the observable universe. These are the largest structures known to date. Observations of superclusters can give information about the initial condition of the universe, when these superclusters were created. The directions of the rotational axes of galaxies within superclusters are studied by those who believe that they may give insight and information into the early formation process of galaxies in the history of the Universe. | display-authors=etal

Interspersed among superclusters are large voids of space where few galaxies exist. Superclusters are frequently subdivided into groups of clusters called galaxy groups and clusters.

Although superclusters are supposed to be the largest structures in the universe according to the cosmological principle, larger structures have been observed in surveys, including the Sloan Great Wall.

List of superclusters

Galaxy supercluster	Data	Notes
Einasto Supercluster		Discovered in 2023 by analyzing Sloan Digital Sky Survey images. Claimed to be the most massive galaxy supercluster discovered so far.
King Ghidorah Supercluster		last1=Shimawaka	first1=Rhythm	last2=Okabe	first2=Nobuhiro	last3=Shirasaki	first3=Masat	last4=Tanaka	first4=Masayuki	date=22 November 2022	title=King Ghidorah Supercluster: Mapping the light and dark matter in a new supercluster at z = 0.55 using the subaru hyper suprime-cam	journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters	volume=519	issue=1	pages=L45–L50	url=https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article-abstract/519/1/L45/6847752?redirectedFrom=fulltext	url-access=subscription	bibcode=2023MNRAS.519L..45S	doi=10.1093/mnrasl/slac150	doi-access=free	arxiv=2211.11970	s2cid=253761264	issn=1745-3933}}
Laniakea Supercluster		The Laniakea Supercluster is the supercluster that contains the Virgo Cluster, Local Group, and by extension on the latter, our galaxy; the Milky Way.
Virgo Supercluster		It contains the Local Group with our galaxy, the Milky Way. It also contains the Virgo Cluster near its center, and is sometimes called the Local Supercluster. It is thought to contain over 47,000 galaxies.
Hydra–Centaurus Supercluster		SCl 128 - It is composed of two lobes, sometimes also referred to as superclusters, or sometimes the entire supercluster is referred to by these other two names
Pavo–Indus Supercluster
Southern Supercluster
Saraswati Supercluster	Gpc]])	The Saraswati Supercluster consists of 43 massive galaxy clusters such as Abell 2361 and has a mass of about and is seen in the Pisces constellation

Nearby superclusters

Galaxy supercluster	Data	Notes
Perseus–Pisces Supercluster		SCl 40
Coma Supercluster		SCl 117 - Forms most of the CfA Homunculus, the center of the CfA2 Great Wall galaxy filament
Sculptor Superclusters		SCl 9
Hercules Superclusters		SCl 160
Leo Supercluster		SCl 93
Ophiuchus Supercluster		(no SCl number) - Forming the far wall of the Ophiuchus Void, it may be connected in a filament, with the Pavo-Indus-Telescopium Supercluster and the Hercules Supercluster. This supercluster is centered on the cD cluster Ophiuchus Cluster, and has at least two more galaxy clusters, four more galaxy groups, several field galaxies, as members.
Shapley Supercluster		SCl 124 - The second supercluster found, after the Local Supercluster.

Distant superclusters

Galaxy supercluster	Data	Notes
Pisces–Cetus Supercluster		SCl 10
Boötes Supercluster		SCl 138
Horologium–Reticulum Supercluster		SCl 48 + SCl 49
Corona Borealis Supercluster		SCl 158
Columba Supercluster		(no SCl number)
Aquarius Supercluster		SCl 4
Aquarius B Supercluster		SCl 193
Aquarius–Capricornus Supercluster		SCl 189
Aquarius–Cetus Supercluster		SCl 188
Bootes A Supercluster		SCl 150
Caelum Supercluster		SCl 59
Draco Supercluster		SCl 114
Draco–Ursa Major Supercluster		SCl 257
Fornax–Eridanus Supercluster		SCl 53
Grus Supercluster		SCl 197
Leo A Supercluster		SCl 100
Leo–Sextans Supercluster		SCl 91
Leo–Virgo Supercluster		SCl 107
Microscopium Supercluster		SCl 174
Pegasus–Pisces Supercluster		SCl 3
Perseus–Pisces Supercluster		SCl 40
Pisces–Aries Supercluster		SCl 30
Ursa Majoris Supercluster		SCl 109
Virgo-Coma Supercluster		SCl 111

Extremely distant superclusters

Galaxy supercluster	Data	Notes
Hyperion proto-supercluster	z=2.45	This supercluster at the time of its discovery in 2018 was the earliest and largest proto-supercluster found to date.
Lynx Supercluster	z=1.27	Discovered in 1999
SCL @ 1338+27 at z=1.1		A rich supercluster with several galaxy clusters was discovered around an unusual concentration of 23 QSOs at z=1.1 in 2001. The size of the complex of clusters may indicate a wall of galaxies exists there, instead of a single supercluster. The size discovered approaches the size of the CfA2 Great Wall filament. At the time of the discovery, it was the largest and most distant supercluster beyond z=0.5
SCL @ 1604+43 at z=0.9	z=0.91	16	04	25.7}}, {{cite journal
North Ecliptic Pole Supercluster (NEP Supercluster, NEPSC)	z=0.88
SCL @ 0018+16 at z=0.54 in SA26	z=0.54	This supercluster lies around radio galaxy 54W084C (z=0.544) and is composed of at least three large clusters, CL 0016+16 (z=0.5455), RX J0018.3+1618 (z=0.5506), RX J0018.8+1602 .
MS 0302+17		This supercluster has at least three member clusters, the eastern cluster CL 0303+1706, southern cluster MS 0302+1659 and northern cluster MS 0302+1717.

Diagram

References

Cain, Fraser. (4 May 2009). "Local Group". [[Universe Today]].
Gibney, Elizabeth. (2014-09-03). "Earth's new address: 'Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea'". Nature.
"The Universe within 14 billion Light Years". Atlas of the Universe.
"An Intergalactic Heavyweight". ESO Picture of the Week.
Abell. (1958). "The distribution of rich clusters of galaxies. A catalogue of 2,712 rich clusters found on the National Geographic Society Palomar Observatory Sky Survey". [[The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series]].
(15 March 2016). "One of the most distant, massive "hypercluster" of galaxies has been discovered".
(2025). "Galaxy Superclusters and Their Complexes in the Cosmic Web". Universe.
(2011-05-09). "The Sloan Great Wall. Morphology and galaxy content". [[The Astrophysical Journal]].
(2024-02-19). "Einasto Supercluster: the new heavyweight contender in the universe {{!}} Tartu Ülikool".
(2023). "Identification of Superclusters and Their Properties in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Using the WHL Cluster Catalog". The Astrophysical Journal.
(22 November 2022). "King Ghidorah Supercluster: Mapping the light and dark matter in a new supercluster at z = 0.55 using the subaru hyper suprime-cam". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
Tully. (2 September 2014). "The Laniakea supercluster of galaxies". [[Nature (journal).
Mitra, Shyamal. (1989). "The World of Galaxies". Springer, New York, NY..
Postman, M.. (1988). "The dynamics of the Corona Borealis supercluster". [[Astronomical Journal]].
Miranda. (October 17, 2018). "Scientists in Chile unveil 'A Cosmic Titan' cluster of galaxies". Reuters.
(2018). "The progeny of a Cosmic Titan: a massive multi-component proto-supercluster in formation at z=2.45 in VUDS". [[Astronomy & Astrophysics]].
University of Hawaii, [http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~kaiser/pictures/ms0302/caption.html "The MS0302+17 Supercluster"], Nick Kaiser. Retrieved 15 September 2009.

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