Virgo SuperclusterThe Virgo Supercluster (Virgo SC) or Local Supercluster (LSC or LS), also known as the Virgo Extension, is a supercluster of galaxies containing the Virgo Cluster and Local Group. The latter contains the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, among others. The Virgo Supercluster is roughly centered on the Virgo Cluster, with the Local Group located near one edge.
Galaxy clusterA galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 10 to 10solar masses (M☉). Clusters consist of galaxies, heated gas, and dark matter. They are the biggest known gravitationally bound structures in the universe. They were believed to be the largest known structures in the universe until the 1980s, when superclusters were discovered.
Elliptical galaxyAn elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the three main classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hubble sequence and 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae, along with spiral and lenticular galaxies.
Local GroupThe Local Group is the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way, where Earth is located. It consists of two collections of galaxies in a "dumbbell" shape; the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies form one lobe, and the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellite galaxies constitute the other.
Milky WayGalaxy containing the Solar SystemArtist's impression of the structure of the Milky Way based on data from the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope, including the location of the spiral arms, bar, and bulgeThe Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy, or simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galaxy, which are so far away that they cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.
Messier 87Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars.
Virgocentric flowThe Virgocentric flow (VCF) is the preferred movement of Local Groupgalaxies towards the Virgo Cluster caused by its overwhelming gravity, which separates bound 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.
NebulaA nebula (Latin for 'cloud, fog'; pl.nebulae or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. In these regions, the formations of gas, dust, and other materials "clump" together to form denser regions, which attract further matter and eventually become dense enough to form stars.
Virgo (constellation)Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. The name means "maiden" in Latin and its traditional astrological symbol is . Between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, lying in the south, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. The ecliptic intersects the celestial equator within this constellation and Pisces.
ParsecThe parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to 3.26 light-years or 206,265 astronomical units (au), i.e., 30.9 trillionkilometres (19.2 trillion miles). The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and is defined as the distance at which 1 au subtends an angle of one arcsecond (1/3600 of a degree).
Charles MessierCharles Messier (French:; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the Messier objects, referred to with the letter M and their number between 1 and 110. Messier's purpose for the catalogue was to help astronomical observers distinguish between permanent and transient visually diffuse objects in the sky.
Solar massThe solar mass (M☉) is a frequently used unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately 2×10 kg. It is approximately equal to the mass of the Sun. It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes.Orders of magnitude (length)Comparison of a wide range of lengthsObjects of sizes in different order of magnitude (at inconsistent intervals)Graphical overview of sizesThe following are examples of orders of magnitude for different lengths. OvervieweditDetailed listeditTo help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between 1.6×10−35{\displaystyle 1.6\times 10^{-35}} metres and 101010122{\displaystyle 10^{10^{10^{122}}}}metres.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.