Boötes Void
The Boötes Void (/boʊˈoʊtiːz/ boh-OH-teez) (colloquially referred to as the Great Nothing)[1] is a roughly spherical region of space in the vicinity of the constellation Boötes. It contains just 60 galaxies, which is significantly lower than the approximately 2,000 galaxies expected for an area of comparable size. With a radius of 62 megaparsecs (nearly 330 million light-years), it is one of the largest known voids in the visible universe, and is often referred to as a "supervoid".[2]
It was discovered in 1981 by astronomer Robert Kirshner as part of a survey of galactic redshift.[3] Its centre is located 700 million light-years from Earth,[2] at right ascension 14h 50m and declination 46°.
The Hercules Superclusters are part of the near edge of the void.[3]
Formation
[edit]The existence of the Boötes Void does not appear to conflict with the Lambda-cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model of cosmological evolution.[4] It is hypothesized that the Boötes Void formed through the coalescence of smaller voids.[5] This process may explain the presence of a limited number of galaxies within a roughly cylindrical region extending through the center of the void.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cowen, Ron (2000). "Big, bigger ... biggest?". Science News. Vol. 158, no. 7. pp. 104–105. doi:10.2307/3981218. JSTOR 3981218.
- ^ a b Pearson, Ezzy (6 February 2022). "The Boötes void: Why the universe has a mysterious hole 330 million light-years". BBC Science Focus. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ a b Kirshner, Robert P.; Oemler Jr., Augustus; Schechter, Paul L.; Shectman, Stephen A. (1 March 1987). "A survey of the Bootes void". Astrophysical Journal, Part 1. 314: 493–506. Bibcode:1987ApJ...314..493K. doi:10.1086/165080. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118385803.
- ^ van de Weygaert, Rien (2006). "Cosmic voids: Much ado about nothing". astro.rug.nl. University of Groningen. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ McCracken, Jason (13 July 2013). "Next Stop: Voids". asd.gsfc.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "Filling the void – understanding the formation of the Bootes void in intergalactic space". Discover magazine. August 1995. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
Sources
[edit]- Kirshner, R.P.; Oemler, A.J.; Schechter, P.L.; Shectman, S.A. (1981). "A million cubic megaparsec void in Bootes". The Astrophysical Journal. 248: L57–60. Bibcode:1981ApJ...248L..57K. doi:10.1086/183623.
- Kirshner, R.P.; Oemler, A.J.; Schechter, P.L.; Shectman, S.A. (1987). "A survey of the Bootes void". The Astrophysical Journal. 314: 493. Bibcode:1987ApJ...314..493K. doi:10.1086/165080. S2CID 118385803.
