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Dark matter halo (R200)

Galactic structure · Theoretical cosmological structure

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Dark matter halo (R200)
Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cosmo0, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Dark matter halo (R200)

Dark matter halo (R200) is about 667,245 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 667,245 years ago.

It is 684,928 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as a galactic structure and shows it at the scale of the Milky Way and the Local Group, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

Its existence is not confirmed: it is shown where it has been proposed.

The Milky Way's invisible dark matter halo reaches roughly 200–220 kpc (R200) for a mass near 10¹² suns. Its total mass is uncertain by about a factor of two (0.9–1.5 × 10¹² M☉).

Key numbers

Distance667,245 light-years (204.58 kpc)
Distance from the Galactic centre684,928 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 130.05°, b = +0.00°

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Satellite galaxies, a view about 2 million light-years across.

From Wikipedia

In modern models of physical cosmology, a dark matter halo is a basic unit of cosmological structure. It is a hypothetical region that has decoupled from cosmic expansion and contains gravitationally bound matter.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dark matter halo, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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