Galaxy Clusters
Virgo Cluster
The Virgo Cluster consists of galaxies at a distance of around 59 Mly away in the constellation Virgo. Containing between 1300 to 2000 galaxies the Virgo Cluster is the heart of the Local Supercluster. Its mass is estimated at 1.2 × 1015 M☉ o...
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds (or Nubeculae Magellani), composed of the Large Megellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere. They are members of our Local Group and orbit the Milky Way gala...
NGC 5866 Group
The NGC 5866, located in the Draco constellation, is named after the galaxy with the highest magnitude however some catalogs list NGC 5907 as the brightest member. The M51 Group and the M101 Group are NGC 5866 closest neighbor. The distances between...
M101 Group
The M101 Group, one of many in the Virgo Supercluster, is located in Ursa Major and named after the brightest galaxy in the group, the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). The group is composed mostly of members that are companions of the Pinwheel Galaxy. The M5...
M96 Group
The M96 Group (also known as the Leo I Group), one of many in the Virgo Supercluster, is located within the Leo constellation and contains between 8 and 24 galaxies, including three Messier objects. The Leo Triplet, which is physically near M96 Group, ...
M81 Group
The M81 Group, containing the well known galaxies Messier 81 and Messier 82, is a group of galaxies within the constellation Ursa Major. Along with Messier 81 and 82 are several other galaxies with apparent brightness. The center, located at an approxi...
M51 Group
The M51 Group, located in Canes Venatici, is named after the brightest galaxy in the group, the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A). The few other notable members include the companion galaxy to the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51B) and the Sunflower Galaxy (M63).
The Local Group
The Local Group, compromising more than 30 galaxies (including dwarf galaxies and the Milky Way), is a group of galaxies with a gravitational center located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. With a binary (dumbbell) shape an...
IC 342
The IC 342/Maffei Group (also known as the IC 342 Group or the Maffei 1 Group) is the closest group of galaxies to the Local Group. The member galaxies are both concentrated around the two brightest galaxies of IC 342 and Maffei 1. The group can theref...
Coma Cluster
The Coma Cluster (Abell 1656), along with the Leo Cluster, is one of two major clusters compromising the Coma Supercluster. It contains over 1000 identified galaxies. Most of the galaxies in the center of the Coma Cluster are elliptical galaxies includ...
CL0024+17
The cluster CL0024+17, located in Pisces, is a galaxy cluster that is allowing astronomers to probe the distribution of dark matter in space. Dark matter does not reflect light and therefore cannot be seen. It is only detectable by the way its gravity ...
Centaurus Cluster
The Centaurus A/M83, divided into subgroup Cen A and M83, is a complex group of galaxies located within Hydra, Centaurus, and Virgo constellations. The Cen A Subgroup, at a distance of 11.9 Mly (3.66 Mpc), is centered around Centaurus A, a nearby radio...
Stephan's Quintet
Stephan's Quintet in the constellation Pegasus is a visual grouping of five galaxies which four form the first compact galaxy group ever discovered. The group was discovered by Édouard Stephan in 1877 at Marseilles Observatory and is the most studi...
Sculptor Group
At a distance of 3.9 Mpc from the Milky Way, the Sculptor Group is one of nearest groups of galaxies to the Local Gropu. Sculptor is made up of a loose group of galaxies near the south galactic pole. The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253) and a few other ga...
Robert's Quartet
Robert's Quartet is four different galaxies in the process of colliding and merging. The galaxies reside in the Phoenix constellation approximately 160 million light-years away. Its members are NGC 87, NGC 88, NGC 89 and NGC 92, discovered by John Hers...
Markarian's Chain
Markarian's Chain is a stretch of galaxies forming part of the Virgo Cluster. The galaxies get their name because when viewed from earth they form a curved line. The other part of the name comes from the Armenian astrophysicist, B. E. Markarian. Markar...
Leo Triplet
The Leo Triplet, consisting of the spiral galaxies M65, the M66, and the NGC 3628, is also called the M66 group. The small group of galaxies is about 35 million light-years in the constellation LEO. In close proximity is the M96 Group. It is believ...
JKCS 041
As of 2009, JKCS 041 is a group of galaxies with the distinction of being the farthest away group from Earth ever observed. Seen at redshift 1.9, it is estimated to be 10.2 billion light years away. The cluster is located within the constellation Cetus...
Fornax Cluster
Although smaller than the Virgo Cluster, the Fornax Cluster, located in the Fornax constellation is the richest cluster of galaxies within 100 million light years. Its distance from us is approximately 62.0+5.9−5.5 Mly (19.0+1.8−1.7 Mpc). I...
Centauras A - M83 Group
Within the Hydra, Centaurus, and Virgo constellations a complex group of galaxies resides called Centaurus A/M83. There are two subgroups within Centaurus A/M83. The first is Cen A, at a distance of 11.9 Million Light Years, is centered around Centauru...
Bullet Cluster
The Bullet Cluster is made up of two colliding clusters galaxies. According to a 2006 study, the Bullet Cluster also shows the best evidence for the existence of Dark Matter. From observations of galaxy cluster collisions it has been found that many sh...
Abell 2142
Abell 2142, also called A2142 and located in the constellation Corona Borealis, is an X-ray luminous galaxy cluster. Its creation is due to the merger between two galaxy clusters. It is one of the largest objects in the universe and is six million ligh...
Abell 520
The Abell 520 galaxy cluster is an strange structure formed by a major merger. Due to its odd and chaotic nature it has been given the nick-name the Train Wreck Cluster. The Dark Matter within the cluster does not act as expected like it does in ot...