Astronomy:Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex
| Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex | |
|---|---|
| Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
| Constellation(s) | Pisces and Cetus (Pisces–Cetus Supercluster)[1][2] |
| Right ascension | 00h 33m[3][4] |
| Declination | −21° 00′[3][4] |
| Major axis | 1,240 Mly (380 Mpc)h−10.70[5] |
| Minor axis | 520 Mly (160 Mpc)h−10.75[1]: 5 |
| Distance (co-moving) | 650 Mly (200 Mpc) (Pisces–Cetus Supercluster)[1][2] |
| Binding mass | ~1018[1][2] M☉ |
| Other designations | |
| Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Pisces–Cetus Complex, Pisces–Cetus SCC, Pisces–Cetus Filament, Local Supercluster Complex | |
The Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex (Pisces–Cetus SCC) or the local superstructure[5] is a galaxy supercluster complex (SCC) that includes the Virgo Supercluster as its outlying member (later confirmed to be part of the Laniakea),[5] which in turn contains the Local Group, the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way.[1] The complex was named after the Pisces–Cetus Superclusters, which are its richest and most prominent superclusters and reside in as its core and of its main plane, located at roughly 200 megaparsecs (652 million light-years; 6.17×1021 kilometres) away from Earth.[2] A supercluster complex is defined as container of several dozens of rich clusters and large superclusters.[2]
Observational history
Astronomer R. Brent Tully of the University of Hawaii's Institute of Astronomy discovered a very massive agglomeration that includes the Local and Pisces–Cetus Superclusters in 1986,[1] and identified it as the "extended Pisces–Cetus Supercluster",[1] and later the Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex in 1987.[6] In addition, four more other nearby supercluster complexes within a redshift of z = 0.1 (roughly 340 megaparsecs) have also been discovered, including Ursa Major, Hercules-Corona Borealis, Leo, and Aquarius Supercluster Complexes.[2] The Aquarius Supercluster Complex was known to contain 25 rich galaxy clusters and is composed of two parts, which are both the Aquarius Region and the Aquarius-Capricornus Region.[2] It along with Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex have been shown to contains most of the 114 southern Abell clusters. Only 28 are not associated with these two main complexes, with no other association having more than four members.[2]
Following the discovery of those supercluster complexes at the end of the 20th century, more other supercluster complexes were later identified such as Sloan Great Wall and BOSS Great Wall.[7][8]
Extent
The Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex is estimated to be about 380 megaparsecs (1.24 billion light-years; 1.17×1022 kilometres) long and 160 megaparsecs (520 million light-years; 4.9×1021 kilometres) wide, making it one of the largest structures known in the observable universe. This brings it to roughly the theoretical limit per the Cosmological Principle. Despite that, larger sizes have been suggested for other structures such as Quipu superstructure, Clowes–Campusano LQG and U1.11, along with the disputed and unconfirmed Huge-LQG, Giant GRB Ring, and Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall.
61 rich clusters comprise the complex, which is estimated to have a total mass of approximately 1018 times that of the mass of the Sun (M☉).[2] According to the discoverer, the complex is composed of 5 parts:
- The Pisces–Cetus Superclusters
- The Perseus–Pegasus chain, including the Perseus–Pisces Supercluster
- The Pegasus–Pisces chain
- The Sculptor region, including the Sculptor Superclusters
- The Laniakea,[5] which contains our Virgo Supercluster (Local Supercluster) as well as the Hydra–Centaurus Supercluster.[2][lower-alpha 1]
With its mass of 1015 M☉, our Virgo Supercluster accounts for only 0.1 percent of the total mass of the complex. Coma Supercluster was also considered to be part of this complex by the time of its discovery in 1986,[1] which forms the heart of Coma Filament and the larger CfA2 Great Wall.
Latest observations of basins of attraction suggested a basin of attraction around Ophiuchus Cluster may be associated with Laniakea, and also have found both, along with Apus and Coma Superclusters, are moving toward the greater Shapley Attractor and may be thus part of the Shapley Concentration.[9][10]
Image

See also
Notes
- ↑ Referred to as Virgo–Hydra–Centaurus Supercluster in Tully et al. (1987).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Tully, R. B. (April 1986). "Alignment of clusters and galaxies on scales up to 0.1 C" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 303: 25. doi:10.1086/164049. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 1986ApJ...303...25T.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Tully, R. Brent (December 1987). "More about clustering on a scale of 0.1 C" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 323: 1. doi:10.1086/165803. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 1987ApJ...323....1T.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Pisces-Cetus Supercluster". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=Pisces-Cetus+Supercluster.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:NED link
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Böhringer, Hans; Chon, Gayoung; Trümper, Joachim (2021). "The Cosmic Large-Scale Structure in X-rays (CLASSIX) Cluster Survey. II. Unveiling a pancake structure with a 100 MPC radius in the local Universe". Astronomy and Astrophysics 651: A15. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140595. Bibcode: 2021A&A...651A..15B.
- ↑ Noble Wilford, John (November 10, 1987). "Massive Clusters of Galaxies Defy Concepts of the Universe". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/10/science/massive-clusters-of-galaxies-defy-concepts-of-the-universe.html?pagewanted=all.
- ↑ Einasto, Maret; Lietzen, Heidi; Gramann, Mirt; Tempel, Elmo; Saar, Enn; Liivamägi, Lauri Juhan; Heinämäki, Pekka; Nurmi, Pasi et al. (2016). "Sloan Great Wall as a complex of superclusters with collapsing cores". Astronomy & Astrophysics 595: A70. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628567. Bibcode: 2016A&A...595A..70E.
- ↑ H.Lietzen; E.Tempel; L. J.Liivamägi (20 March 2016). "Discovery of a massive supercluster system at z ~ 0.47". Astronomy & Astrophysics 588: L4. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628261. Bibcode: 2016A&A...588L...4L.
- ↑ Dupuy, A.; Courtois, H. M. (2023). "Dynamic cosmography of the local Universe: Laniakea and five more watershed superclusters". Astronomy & Astrophysics 678: A176. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346802. Bibcode: 2023A&A...678A.176D.
- ↑ Valade, A.; Libeskind, N. I.; Pomarède, D.; Tully, R. B.; Hoffman, Y.; Pfeifer, S.; Kourkchi, E. (2024). "Identification of basins of attraction in the local Universe". Nature Astronomy 8 (12): 1610. doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02370-0. Bibcode: 2024NatAs...8.1610V.
Further reading
- Peebles, P J E. (2022). "The extended Local Supercluster". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 511 (4): 5093–5103. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac429.
- Einasto, Maret (2025). "Galaxy Superclusters and Their Complexes in the Cosmic Web". Universe 11 (6): 167. doi:10.3390/universe11060167. Bibcode: 2025Univ...11..167E.
- "Voids - H.J. Rood". https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Sept01/Rood/Rood2_2.html.
- Tully, R. B. (1988). "The Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex". Large Scale Structures of the Universe 130: 243. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2995-1_35. ISBN 978-90-277-2744-2. Bibcode: 1988IAUS..130..243T.
- Kalinkov, M.; Kuneva, I. (1995). "Superclusters of galaxies. I. The catalog". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 113: 451. Bibcode: 1995A&AS..113..451K.
External links
- "Tully Discovers the Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/physics/tully-discovers-pisces-cetus-supercluster-complex.
