The Virgocentric flow (VCF) is the preferred movement of
Local Group galaxies
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
towards the
Virgo cluster caused by its overwhelming
gravity, which separates
bound
Bound or bounds may refer to:
Mathematics
* Bound variable
* Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions
Physics
* Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space
Geography
*B ...
objects from the
Hubble flow of
cosmic expansion. The VCF can refer to the Local Group's movement towards the
Virgo Cluster,
since its center is considered synonymous with the Virgo cluster, but more tedious to ascertain due to its much larger volume. The excess velocity of Local Group galaxies towards, and with respect to, the Virgo Cluster are 100 to 400 km/s.
This excess velocity is referred to as each galaxy's
peculiar velocity
Peculiar motion or peculiar velocity refers to the velocity of an object relative to a ''rest frame'' — usually a frame in which the average velocity of some objects is zero.
Galactic astronomy
In galactic astronomy, peculiar motion refers to ...
.
See also
*
Great Attractor
*
Shapley Attractor
*
Dark flow
References
Astrophysics
Extragalactic astronomy
Virgo Supercluster
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