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Perseus Cluster: size, dimension and comparison

The adopted reference is about 11.6 million light-years.

Adopted virial extent diameter · 11.6 million ly

A light-year is a distance: how far light travels in one year. Here, those distances are counted in millions.

A cluster surrounded by very hot gas observed in X-rays.

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Perseus Cluster, interpreted illustration
Interpreted illustration · dimension stated in the fact sheet.

What does this number measure?

A cluster surrounded by very hot gas observed in X-rays. Approximate cluster diameter based on the virial extent inferred from Suzaku observations. The 2011 NASA article gives a diameter of 11.6 million light-years. This is neither a radius to be doubled nor the cluster's distance; the boundary is a dynamical convention.

Compare the stated dimensions

The comparison uses the number in each fact sheet: altitude, height, diameter, length or distance, depending on the reference. Two values in metres do not necessarily describe the same property.

Compare with Local Group in the explorer →

Source and limitations

NASA's 2011 article gives a diameter of 11.6 million light-years. This is not a radius to double or the cluster's distance; the boundary is a dynamical convention.

A generic artistic pattern shared with another entry in the same family; it represents neither a photograph nor an observed map of this structure. The galaxies and filaments are symbolic; only the stated extent follows the length scale factor.