Coma Supercluster

The Coma Supercluster is a huge structure of many thousands of galaxies, which is in the direction of the constellations Coma ( Coma Berenices ) and Lion.

In recent decades astronomers and cosmologists have discovered several such superclusters, which are the largest known structures in the universe. They play for the study of spatial structure and development of the universe since the Big Bang a major role.

The majority of the Coma supercluster consists of two clusters of galaxies Abell 1656 and Abell 1367 ( after the astronomer George Abell Ogden from Mount Palomar and its special catalog). However, they are usually referred to in astronomy as Coma or Leo cluster of galaxies and are about 310 and 290 million light- years away from us. The two " clusters " (English ) of Coma and Leo are connected by a "bridge" of galaxies, and there might also be a "bridge" in our direction.

According to theory, galaxies and superclusters also contain large amounts of dark matter and numerous radio sources; Furthermore, they are - as well as other astronomical structures - of a thin gas permeated that makes by its many millions of degrees temperature end amount in the form of X-rays noticeable.

The neighboring the sky, five times more Virgo cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo is also part of a supercluster ( Virgo Supercluster ), which also includes our Milky Way and its " Local Group " is one. Many galaxies researchers suggest these two major structures as coherent, because they are likely to be in communication with each other by a long bridge galaxies in the form of a filament, and speak of the Coma- Virgo Supercluster.