Astronomy: Galaxy Clusters

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Galaxy Clusters A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. Clusters consist of galaxies, heated gas, and dark matter.

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Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Galaxy Clusters A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structur e that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. Clusters consist of galaxies, heated gas, and dark matter. They are the biggest known gravitationally bound structures in the universe.

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Why Galaxy Clusters matters: Galaxies are the fundamental building blocks of the visible universe . Studying them reveals how matter organized itself after the Big Bang and continues to evolve billions of years later. They were believed to be the largest known structures in the universe until the 1980s, when superclusters were discovered. Small aggregates of galaxies are referred to as galaxy groups rather than clusters of galaxies. Together, galaxy groups and clusters form superclusters.

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Deep dive: Galaxy Clusters Small aggregates of gal axies are referred to as galaxy groups rather than clusters of galaxies. Together, galaxy groups and clusters form superclusters. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_cluster (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)