In 2014, it was identified that the Ophiuchus Cluster, alongside its surroundings, is part of a greater supercluster, Laniakea–a basin of attraction centered on the Great Attractor, in which the Virgo Supercluster is also now considered a lobe of.[5][lower-alpha 2] A subsequent study based on observations of basins of attraction suggested a basin of attraction around Ophiuchus Cluster may be associated with Laniakea, and also have found both are moving toward the Shapley Concentration.[3] They have hence been suggested to be likely part of this even larger structure.[3]
In February 2020, astronomers reported that a 1.5 million light-year wide cavity in the Ophiuchus Supercluster originated from the central galaxy of the Ophiuchus Cluster. The cD galaxy, NeVe 1, is the site of the Ophiuchus Supercluster eruption, triggered by the ejection of ~270 million solar masses (M☉) from the supermassive black hole of NeVe 1, called WISEA J171227.81-232210.7. This may be the largest known explosion in the Universe since the Big Bang.[9][10][11][12]
Discovery
Ken-ichi Wakamatsu of Gifu University and Matthew Malkan discovered Ophiuchus Cluster in 1981 on Palomar Schmidt IV-N Plates during a hidden globular cluster survey.[6] Perhaps, determining characteristics of a supercluster will help to more correctly explain the excess velocity component of the local group of galaxies.[7]
Notes
↑The calculated volume in Valade et al. (2024) is 0.80×106 Mpc per cube.
↑Although not directly stated in Tully et al. (2014), the said paper mentioned "an extension to the Ophiuchus Cluster"
↑ 2.02.1Colin, Jacques; Mohayaee, Roya; Rameez, Mohamed; Sarkar, Subir (2017). "High-redshift radio galaxies and divergence from the CMB dipole". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society471 (1): 1045. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx1631. Bibcode: 2017MNRAS.471.1045C.
↑ 3.03.13.23.3Valade, A.; Libeskind, N. I.; Pomarède, D.; Tully, R. B.; Hoffman, Y.; Pfeifer, S.; Kourkchi, E. (2024). "Identification of basins of attraction in the local Universe". Nature Astronomy8 (12): 1610. doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02370-0. Bibcode: 2024NatAs...8.1610V.