Void (astronomy)

In astronomy, voids are the empty spaces between filaments, one of the largest-scale structures in the Universe that contain none or hardly any 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

External links

• Universe family tree: Void

References

1. 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)
2. 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)