Virgo Cluster size and scale context

The Virgo Cluster is the nearest large galaxy cluster to the Milky Way and the dense core of our wider cosmic neighborhood. It contains well over a thousand galaxies, and its core is dominated by giant ellipticals such as M87. Its hot intracluster gas and dark matter make it one of the most important nearby laboratories for studying how galaxies evolve inside clusters. Read its scale context, comparisons, and journey links on the canonical object page.