English edit

Etymology edit

super- +‎ galaxy

Noun edit

supergalaxy (plural supergalaxies)

  1. A very large, extended cluster of galaxies.
    • 1935, Arthur McCracken Harding, Astronomy: The Splendor of the Heavens Brought Down to Earth[1], Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., Our Galaxy Belongs to a Super-Galaxy, page 374:
      Our galaxy, together with the ninety-three globular clusters and the two Magellanic Clouds, forms a sort of super-galaxy in space.
    • 1964, V. L. Ginzburg, S. I. Syrovatskii, translated by H. S. H. Massey, edited by D. ter Haar, The Origin of Cosmic Rays[2], Moscow: Pergamon Press, →ISBN, page 243:
      The radio galaxies Virgo A, Centaurus A and possibly Fornax A lie within the Local Supergalaxy. In addition, the weaker galaxies NGC 4261, M84 and NGC 1068 are also located in this supergalaxy.
    • 2013, Clifford A. Pickover, The Book of Black: Black Holes, Black Death, Black Forest Cake and Other Dark Sides of Life[3], Calla Editions, →ISBN, Lonely Black Sky, page 198:
      Our descendants will observe that they live in a blob of stars, which results from gravity pulling together a few nearby galaxies into one supergalaxy.

Related terms edit