About[]
Galaxy clusters are colossal groupings of galaxies bound together by gravity. These enormous structures contain hundreds or even thousands of galaxies, along with vast amounts of hot gas emitting X-rays and an invisible but influential presence of dark matter, most clusters having 90% dark matter. A nearby example is the Virgo Cluster, which includes our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Size[]
Galaxy clusters rank among as the second largest known gravitationally bound structures in our observable universe, surpassed only by even more enormous superstructures like superclusters and cosmic filaments, such as the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, a mind-bogglingly massive formation.
The size of galaxy clusters can vary greatly. Some are relatively compact, containing a few dozen galaxies, while others, known as Superclusters, encompass thousands of galaxies spread over hundreds of millions of light-years. These massive formations illustrate the hierarchical nature of the universe, where galaxies group into clusters, clusters into superclusters, and superclusters into immense cosmic filaments and voids, forming the vast cosmic web.
Mass[]
Masses of galaxy clusters are immense, ranging at approximately 10^14 solar masses to ~10^15 solar masses, or spread out, 100,000,000,000,000(10^14)/1,000,000,000,000,000(10^15). For reference, a single solar mass is equivalent to 4.3838259448676e+30 pounds.
Formation[]
Galaxy Clusters form through the process of gravitational attraction from smaller structures. Generally when these clusters are first made, these smaller structures are made first, whilst chunks of dark matter and associated galaxies come together through gravitational attraction. Another thought to come to mind of the galaxies inside are formed inside of the cluster instead of dark matter halos, the gas inside of those structures contracted and cooled down causing the birth of stars and then the galaxies.
Creator note:[]
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