List of largest cosmic structures

This is a list of the largest cosmic structures so far discovered. The unit of measurement used is the light-year (distance traveled by light in one Julian year; approximately 9.46 trillion kilometres).

An image of the massive galaxy cluster MACS J0454.1-0300.

This list includes superclusters, galaxy filaments and large quasar groups (LQGs). The list characterizes each structure based on its longest dimension.

Note that this list refers only to coupling of matter with defined limits, and not the coupling of matter in general (as per example the cosmic microwave background, which fills the entire universe). All structures in this list are defined as to whether their presiding limits have been identified.

There are some speculations about this list:

• The Zone of Avoidance, or the part of the sky occupied by the Milky Way, blocks out light to several structures, making their limits imprecisely identified.
• Some structures are far too distant to be seen even with the most powerful telescopes. Some factors are included to explain the structure (like gravitational lensing and redshift data).
• Some structures have no defined limits, or endpoints. All structures are believed to be part of the cosmic web, which is a conclusive idea. Most structures are overlapped by nearby galaxies, creating a problem of how to carefully define the structure's limit.

List of largest structures

List of the largest cosmic structures

Structure name (year discovered)	Maximum dimension (in light-years)	Notes
Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall (2014)[1]	9,700,000,000[2][3][4]	Discovered through gamma-ray burst mapping. Doubt has been placed on the existence of the structure.[5]
Giant GRB Ring (2015)[6]	5,600,000,000[6]	Discovered through gamma-ray burst mapping. Largest-known regular formation in the observable Universe.[6]
Huge-LQG (2012-2013)	4,000,000,000[7][8][9]	Decoupling of 73 quasars. Largest-known large quasar group and the first structure found to exceed 3 billion light-years.
U1.11 LQG (2011)	2,500,000,000	Involves 38 quasars. Adjacent to the Clowes-Campusano LQG.
Clowes–Campusano LQG (1991)	2,000,000,000	Grouping of 34 quasars. Discovered by Roger Clowes and Luis Campusano.
Sloan Great Wall (2003)	1,380,000,000	Discovered through the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
South Pole Wall (2020)	1,370,000,000[10][11][12][13][14][15]	The largest contiguous feature in the local volume and comparable to the Sloan Great Wall (see above) at half the distance. It is located at the celestial South Pole.
(Theoretical limit)	1,200,000,000	Structures larger than this size are incompatible with the cosmological principle according to all estimates
BOSS Great Wall (BGW) (2016)	1,000,000,000	Structure consisting of 4 superclusters of galaxies. The mass and volume exceeds the amount of Sloan Great Wall.[16]
Perseus–Pegasus Filament (1985)	1,000,000,000	This galaxy filament contains Perseus-Pisces Supercluster.
Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex (1987)	1,000,000,000	Contains the Milky Way, and is the first galaxy filament to be discovered. (The first LQG was found earlier in 1982.) A new report in 2014 confirms the Milky Way as a member of Laniakea Supercluster.
Caelum Supercluster	910,000,000	Caelum Supercluster is a collection of over 550,000 galaxies. It is the largest of all galaxy superclusters.
CfA2 Great Wall (1989)	750,000,000	Also known as the Coma Wall
Saraswati Supercluster	652,000,000[17]	Saraswati Supercluster consists of 43 massive galaxy clusters, which include Abell 2361 and ZWCl 2341.1+0000.
Boötes Supercluster	620,000,000
Horologium Supercluster (2005)	550,000,000	Also known as Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster.
Laniakea Supercluster (2014)	520,000,000	Galaxy supercluster in which the Earth is located
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 11	500,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Hyperion proto-supercluster (2018)	489,000,000	the largest and earliest known proto– supercluster
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 12	480,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Newman LQG (U1.54)	450,000,000
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 5	430,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Tesch–Engels LQG	420,000,000
Draco Supercluster	410,000,000
The Great Attractor	400,000,000
Shapley Supercluster	400,000,000	First identified by Harlow Shapley as a cloud of galaxies in 1930, it was not identified as a structure until 1989.
Komberg–Kravstov–Lukash LQG 3	390,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
U1.90	380,000,000
Lynx–Ursa Major Filament (LUM Filament)	370,000,000
Sculptor Wall	370,000,000	Also known as Southern Great Wall
Pisces-Cetus Supercluster	350,000,000
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 2	350,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
z=2.38 filament around protocluster ClG J2143-4423	330,000,000
Webster LQG	320,000,000	First LQG (Large Quasar Group) discovered[19][20]
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 8	310,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 1	280,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 6	260,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 7	250,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
SCL @ 1338+27	228,314,341	One of most distant known superclusters.
Komberg–Kravtsov–Lukash LQG 9	200,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
SSA22 Protocluster	200,000,000	Giant collection of Lyman-alpha blobs
Ursa Major Supercluster	200,000,000
Komberg-Kravtsov-Lukash LQG 10	180,000,000	Discovered by Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravstov and Vladimir N. Lukash[18][19]
Ophiuchus Supercluster	170,000,000
Virgo Supercluster	110,000,000	Part of the Laniakea Supercluster (see above). It also contains the Milky Way Galaxy, which contains the Solar System where the Earth orbits the Sun. Reported for reference

List of largest voids

Voids are immense spaces between galaxy filaments and other large-scale structures. Technically they are not structures. They are vast spaces which contain very few, or no galaxies. They are theorized to be caused by quantum fluctuations during the early formation of the universe.

A list of the largest voids so far discovered is below. Each is ranked according to its longest dimension.

List of the largest voids

Void name/designation	Maximum dimension (in light-years)	Notes
KBC Void	2,000,000,000	Void containing the Milky Way galaxy and Local Group
Giant Void	1,300,000,000	Also known as Canes Venatici Supervoid
Tully-11 void	880,000,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
Tully-10 void	792,000,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
Tully-9 void	746,000,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
B&B Abell-20 void	684,000,000
B&B Abell-9 void	652,000,000
Tully-7 void	567,240,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
Tully-4 void	564,000,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
Tully-6 void	557,460,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
Bahcall & Soneiro 1982 void	554,465,200	This suspected void ranged 100 degrees across the sky, and has shown up on other surveys as several separate voids. [21]
Tully-8 void	554,200,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
B&B Abell-21 void	521,600,000
B&B Abell-28 void	521,600,000
Eridanus Supervoid	489,000,000 (most likely value)	A recent analysis of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) in 2007 has found an irregularity of the temperature fluctuation of the cosmic microwave background within the vicinity of the constellation Eridanus with analysis found to be 70 microkelvins cooler than the average CMB temperature. One speculation is that a void could cause the cold spot, with the possible size on the left. However, it may be as large as 1 billion light-years, close to the size of the Giant Void.
B&B Abell-4 void	489,000,000
B&B Abell-15 void	489,000,000
Tully-3 void	489,000,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
1994EEDTAWSS-10 void	469,440,000
Tully-1 void	456,400,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
B&B Abell-8 void	456,000,000
B&B Abell-22 void	456,000,000
Tully-2 void	443,360,000	Catalogued by R. Brent Tully
B&B Abell-24 void	423,800,000
B&B Abell-27 void	423,800,000
B&B Abell-7 void	391,200,000
B&B Abell-12 void	391,200,000
B&B Abell-29 void	391,200,000
1994EEDTAWSS-21 void	378,160,000
Southern Local Supervoid	365,120,000
B&B Abell-10 void	358,600,000
B&B Abell-11 void	358,600,000
B&B Abell-13 void	358,600,000
B&B Abell-17 void	358,600,000
B&B Abell-19 void	358,600,000
B&B Abell-23 void	358,600,000
1994EEDTAWSS-19 void	342,100,000
Northern Local Supervoid	339,202,240	Virgo Supercluster, Coma Supercluster, Perseus-Pisces Supercluster, Ursa Major-Lynx Supercluster, Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster, Sculptor Supercluster, Pavo-Corona Australes Supercluster form a sheet between the Northern Local Supervoid and the Southern Local Supervoid. The Hercules Supercluster separates the Northern Local Void from the Boötes Void. The Perseus-Pisces Supercluster and Pegasus Supercluster form a sheet separate the Northern Local Void and Southern Local Void from the Pegasus Void.[22]
Boötes void	330,000,000	Also known as The Giant Nothing
1994EEDTAWSS-12 void	328,000,000
SSRS1 4 void	217,437,333.3
GACIRASS V0 void	215,262,960
BOSSCMASS 4407 void	207,001,428.5	[23]
SSRS2 3 void	198,302,848
Local void	195,693,600	One of the nearest voids known and contains 3 galaxies.
SSRS2 2 void	183,299,672
SSRS2 1 void	177,102,708
CMASS North 11496 void	171,143,837.9	[24]
IRAS 1 void	166,399,560
SSRS1 3 void	163,078,000
IRAS 4 void	146,770,200
IRAS 3 void	145,139,420
IRAS 2 void	142,856,328
IRAS 7 void	141,877,860
SSRS2 11 void	139,920,924
IRAS 6 void	135,028,584
IRAS 13 void	131,440,868
Pegasus void	130,462,400	[25] The Perseus-Pisces Supercluster and Pegasus Supercluster form a sheet separate the Northern Local Void and Southern Local Void from the Pegasus Void.[22]
IRAS 8 void	128,831,620
SSRS2 9 void	127,200,840
CMASS North 15935 void	126,166,925.5	[26]
IRAS 9 void	117,416,160
IRAS 5 void	117,416,160
SSRS2 4 void	116,111,536
SSRS2 5 void	113,502,288
SSRS2 10 void	113,502,288
IRAS 10 void	109,588,416
SSRS1 1 void	108,718,666.7	Located just behind the galaxy concentration Eridanus-Fornax-Dorado.
BOSSCMASS 60 void	105,341,864.9	[27]
IRAS 11 void	104,369,920
SSRS2 6 void	104,369,920
IRAS 12 void	102,739,140
IRAS 15 void	99,151,424
SSRS1 2 void	97,846,800
IRAS 14 void	93,932,928
SSRS2 8 void	90,671,368
SSRS2 15 void	89,040,588
GACIRASS V1 void	83,169,780
SSRS2 7 void	83,169,780
SSRS2 12 void	81,539,000
GACIRASS V3 void	81,539,000
SSRS2 13 void	72,080,476
SSRS2 14 void	69,471,228
SSRS2 18 void	68,818,916
SSRS2 16 void	66,209,668
GACIRASS V2 void	63,600,420
SSRS2 17 void	61,969,640
CMASS North 10020 void	52,067,543.84	[28]

See also

• List of most massive black holes
• List of largest galaxies
• List of largest nebulae
• List of largest stars
• List of largest exoplanets
• List of astronomical objects
• List of voids
• List of Large quasar groups

References

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