Local Void

Local Void

Object type	Void
Observation data (Epoch J2000.0 )
Right ascension	18h 38m
Declination	+18.0°
In visual light (V)
Size	60 Mpc (200 Mly)
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Coordinates: 18^h 38^m 0^s, +18° 0′ 0″

The Local Void is a vast, empty region of space, lying adjacent to the Local Group. Discovered by Brent Tully and Rick Fisher in 1987, the Local Void is now known to be composed of three separate sectors, separated by bridges of "wispy filaments". The precise extent of the void is unknown, but it is at least 45 Mpc (150 million light-years) across and may have a long dimension of up to 70 Mpc (230 million light-years). The Local Void also appears to have significantly fewer galaxies than expected from standard cosmology.

Voids are the result of the way gravity causes matter in the universe to "clump together", herding galaxies into clusters and chains, which are separated by regions mostly devoid of galaxies.

Astronomers have previously noticed that the Milky Way sits in a large, flat array of galaxies called the Local Sheet, which bounds the Local Void. The Local Void extends approximately 60 megaparsecs (200 Mly), beginning at the edge of the Local Group. It is believed that the distance from Earth to the centre of the Local Void must be at least 23 megaparsecs (75 Mly).