Cosmic Scale
Shapley Supercluster
The most massive nearby supercluster · 650 million light-years
How big is Shapley Supercluster?
Shapley Supercluster is about 160 million light-years across.
See Shapley Supercluster in 3D, at true scale
The Shapley Supercluster is the largest concentration of galaxies within about a billion light-years: more than 8,000 galaxies in dozens of clusters, with ESO 383-76 among them. Its gravity pulls on the whole Local Group.
At a glance
| Diameter | 160 million light-years |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.99 × 10⁴⁶ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 1.2 × 10¹⁷ × Earth |
| Distance | 650 million light-years |
| Galaxies | Over 8,000 |
| Clusters | About 28 |
| Named after | Harlow Shapley |
Good to know
- Part of the Milky Way's motion through space comes from its pull.
- Harlow Shapley noticed a crowd of galaxies there in 1930.
- Its size depends on how it is defined; the value here follows ESA.
- Next smaller: Virgo Supercluster · 110 million light-years
- Next larger: Boötes Void · 400 million light-years