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, a figure 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 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.
