The Taurus Void is a vast, near-empty region of space situated between the Perseus–Pisces Supercluster and the Virgo Supercluster. The Taurus void is unique because of its relatively close proximity to Earth, and because it helps to define the edge of latter's home supercluster, the Virgo Supercluster. Despite its close proximity to Earth, the Taurus Void is not well-studied because it is partially obscured by the Milky Way when viewed from Earth. In contrast to its ambiguous boundary in the section of sky obscured by the Milky Way, the Taurus Void has a very well-defined boundary with the Perseus-Pisces supercluster.[3]
In Earth's sky, the Taurus Void appears from ~2h40min to at least 4h ra, at which point it is obscured by the Milky Way, and from 5° to 40° dec.[4] Opposite its border with the Milky Way, the Taurus Void forms a distinct border with the Perseus-Pisces supercluster. Specifically, the void is bordered by the galaxy clusters A400, A426, and A374 within the supercluster.[5]
In 3D space, the Taurus Void resides between the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster and our own Virgo Supercluster. By situating itself between these two superclusters, the Taurus Void, along with the Local Void, define the boundary between these two superclusters (and to some extent the Laniakea Supercluster, because the Virgo Supercluster is technically a part of the much larger Laniakea Supercluster).[6]
Zone of AvoidanceEdit
Despite its close proximity to Earth, the Taurus Void is a difficult void to study because it lies behind the Zone of Avoidance (ZOA) – the area of sky obscured by the Milky Way. The Taurus Void lies behind an area of high extinction.[5]
Because much of the Taurus Void lies behind an area of high extinction, scientists face a challenge when trying to determine the density and dimensions of the Taurus Void. The main problem is that light from dimmer galaxies lying behind the Milky Way may be extinguished before it reaches Earth, preventing scientists from observing these galaxies. This would lead scientists to believe that the Taurus Void is emptier than it actually is, because they can not observe the galaxies that may be present.
This is not to say that the Taurus Void is not an actual void, however. The void has previously been observed in the infrared spectrum (where there is less foreground extinction from the Milky Way) to establish that the void is indeed a void.[7] Additionally, there have been other studies that have mapped the void[5][6][7][8] and others that have determined the rate of galaxy outflow from the void to other superclusters.[9] Together, these studies provide strong evidence that a void does exist, despite the difficulty of observing objects behind the ZOA.
Further efforts to see behind the Milky Way's ZOA such as the ALFAZOA[10] and ALFALFA[11] surveys may be able to perform more accurate measurements and place better constraints on the parameters of the void in the future. The surveys, conducted using the Arecibo radio telescope, will attempt to look for light from distant galaxies that has been redshifted to a wavelength that will stand out in comparison to the noise caused by the Milky Way's Zone of Avoidance. However, these surveys have limited range in the north-south (declination) direction, due to operation constraints of the Arecibo telescope.
^ abcHenning, P. A.; Springob, C. M.; Minchin, R. F.; et al. (June 2010). "The Arecibo L-band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance Survey. I. Precursor Observations Through the Inner and Outer Galaxy". The Astronomical Journal. 139 (6): 2130–47. arXiv:1002.2933. Bibcode:2010AJ....139.2130H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/139/6/2130.
^ abcdDonley, Jennifer L.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Kraan-Korteweg, R. C.; et al. (January 2005). "The H I Parkes Zone of Avoidance Survey: The Northern Extension". The Astronomical Journal. 129 (1): 220–38. arXiv:astro-ph/0409570. Bibcode:2005AJ....129..220D. doi:10.1086/426320. original data from Fairall, A. P. 1998, Large-Scale Structures in the Local Universe (Chichester: Wiley)
^Powell, Richard. "The Perseus-Pisces Supercluster." Atlas of the Universe. Web. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2015.
^ abLu, Nanyao Y.; Freudling, Wolfram (1994). Balkowski, C.; Kraan-Korteweg, C. (eds.). "Large-Scale Structures in the Highly Obscured Orion-Taurus Region". Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series. 67: 238–48. Bibcode:1994ASPC...67..239L.
^ALFA ZOA Team. "The Arecibo Zone of Avoidance Survey (ALFAZOA)." Arecibo Observatory, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2015.
^ALFA Team at Cornell. "The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey." Arecibo Observatory, 1 Apr. 2013 Web. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2015.
External linksEdit
Atlas of the universe page on the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster and Taurus Void
Atlas of the universe page on The Universe within 1 billion Light Years and The Neighboring Superclusters
October 20, 2023
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The Taurus Void is a vast near empty region of space situated between the Perseus Pisces Supercluster and the Virgo Supercluster The Taurus void is unique because of its relatively close proximity to Earth and because it helps to define the edge of latter s home supercluster the Virgo Supercluster Despite its close proximity to Earth the Taurus Void is not well studied because it is partially obscured by the Milky Way when viewed from Earth In contrast to its ambiguous boundary in the section of sky obscured by the Milky Way the Taurus Void has a very well defined boundary with the Perseus Pisces supercluster 3 Observation Data Epoch J2000 1 Right Ascension3h30min 1 Declination 20 1 Galactic Longitude167 2 Galactic Latitude 29 2 Apparent Radial Velocity4 000 km s 2 500 mi s 2 Radius 2 000 km s 1 200 mi s 2 Contents 1 Location 2 Zone of Avoidance 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksLocation EditIn Earth s sky the Taurus Void appears from 2h40min to at least 4h ra at which point it is obscured by the Milky Way and from 5 to 40 dec 4 Opposite its border with the Milky Way the Taurus Void forms a distinct border with the Perseus Pisces supercluster Specifically the void is bordered by the galaxy clusters A400 A426 and A374 within the supercluster 5 In 3D space the Taurus Void resides between the Perseus Pisces Supercluster and our own Virgo Supercluster By situating itself between these two superclusters the Taurus Void along with the Local Void define the boundary between these two superclusters and to some extent the Laniakea Supercluster because the Virgo Supercluster is technically a part of the much larger Laniakea Supercluster 6 Zone of Avoidance EditDespite its close proximity to Earth the Taurus Void is a difficult void to study because it lies behind the Zone of Avoidance ZOA the area of sky obscured by the Milky Way The Taurus Void lies behind an area of high extinction 5 Because much of the Taurus Void lies behind an area of high extinction scientists face a challenge when trying to determine the density and dimensions of the Taurus Void The main problem is that light from dimmer galaxies lying behind the Milky Way may be extinguished before it reaches Earth preventing scientists from observing these galaxies This would lead scientists to believe that the Taurus Void is emptier than it actually is because they can not observe the galaxies that may be present This is not to say that the Taurus Void is not an actual void however The void has previously been observed in the infrared spectrum where there is less foreground extinction from the Milky Way to establish that the void is indeed a void 7 Additionally there have been other studies that have mapped the void 5 6 7 8 and others that have determined the rate of galaxy outflow from the void to other superclusters 9 Together these studies provide strong evidence that a void does exist despite the difficulty of observing objects behind the ZOA Further efforts to see behind the Milky Way s ZOA such as the ALFAZOA 10 and ALFALFA 11 surveys may be able to perform more accurate measurements and place better constraints on the parameters of the void in the future The surveys conducted using the Arecibo radio telescope will attempt to look for light from distant galaxies that has been redshifted to a wavelength that will stand out in comparison to the noise caused by the Milky Way s Zone of Avoidance However these surveys have limited range in the north south declination direction due to operation constraints of the Arecibo telescope See also EditVoid astronomy Large scale structure of the universe Perseus Pisces Supercluster List of voidsReferences Edit a b c Henning P A Springob C M Minchin R F et al June 2010 The Arecibo L band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance Survey I Precursor Observations Through the Inner and Outer Galaxy The Astronomical Journal 139 6 2130 47 arXiv 1002 2933 Bibcode 2010AJ 139 2130H doi 10 1088 0004 6256 139 6 2130 a b c d Donley Jennifer L Staveley Smith L Kraan Korteweg R C et al January 2005 The H I Parkes Zone of Avoidance Survey The Northern Extension The Astronomical Journal 129 1 220 38 arXiv astro ph 0409570 Bibcode 2005AJ 129 220D doi 10 1086 426320 original data from Fairall A P 1998 Large Scale Structures in the Local Universe Chichester Wiley Powell Richard The Perseus Pisces Supercluster Atlas of the Universe Web Retrieved 18 Oct 2015 Wegner Gary Haynes Martha P Giovanelli Riccardo April 1993 A Survey of the Pisces Perseus V The Declination Strip 33 5 degrees to 39 5 degrees and the Main Supercluster Ridge The Astronomical Journal 105 4 1251 70 Bibcode 1993AJ 105 1251W doi 10 1086 116507 a b c Giovanelli Riccardo Haynes Martha P Chincarini Guido L January 1986 Morphological Segregation in the Pisces Perseus Supercluster The Astrophysical Journal 300 77 92 Bibcode 1986ApJ 300 77G doi 10 1086 163784 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint date and year link a b Tully R Brent Courtois Helene Hoffman Yehuda Pomarede Daniel 3 September 2014 The Laniakea Supercluster of Galaxies Nature 513 7516 71 73 arXiv 1409 0880 Bibcode 2014Natur 513 71T doi 10 1038 nature13674 PMID 25186900 S2CID 205240232 a b Lu Nanyao Y Freudling Wolfram 1994 Balkowski C Kraan Korteweg C eds Large Scale Structures in the Highly Obscured Orion Taurus Region Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series 67 238 48 Bibcode 1994ASPC 67 239L Marzke Ronald O Huchra John P Geller Margaret J November 1996 Large Scale Structure at Low Galactic Latitude The Astronomical Journal 112 5 1803 11 2356 7 Bibcode 1996AJ 112 1803M doi 10 1086 118142 Erdoǧdu Pirin Lahav Ofer Huchra John P et al November 2006 Reconstructed density and velocity fields from the 2MASS Redshift Survey PDF Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 373 1 45 64 arXiv astro ph 0610005 Bibcode 2006MNRAS 373 45E doi 10 1111 j 1365 2966 2006 11049 x Archived PDF from the original on 26 July 2018 ALFA ZOA Team The Arecibo Zone of Avoidance Survey ALFAZOA Arecibo Observatory 5 Oct 2015 Web Retrieved 18 Oct 2015 ALFA Team at Cornell The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey Arecibo Observatory 1 Apr 2013 Web Retrieved 18 Oct 2015 External links EditAtlas of the universe page on the Perseus Pisces Supercluster and Taurus Void Atlas of the universe page on The Universe within 1 billion Light Years and The Neighboring Superclusters Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Taurus Void amp oldid 1123931884, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
