vast empty spaces between filaments which contain very few or no galaxies

Void (astronomy) - Wikipedia
Cosmic voids (also known as dark space) are vast spaces between filaments (the largest-scale structures in the universe), which contain very few or no galaxies. In spite of their size, most galaxies … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Void_(astronomy)
Void (astronomy) - Wikipedia
5 days ago - The most striking aspect is that it requires a different definition of what it means to be a void. Instead of the general notion that a void is a region of space with a low cosmic mean density; a hole in the distribution of galaxies, it defines voids to be regions in which matter is escaping; ...
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Boötes_Void
Boötes Void - Wikipedia
1 month ago - The Boötes Void (/boʊˈoʊtiːz/ boh-OH-teez) (colloquially referred to as the Great Nothing) is a roughly spherical region of space in the vicinity of the constellation Boötes. It contains just 60 galaxies, which is significantly lower than the approximately 2,000 galaxies expected for ...
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Encyclopedia MDPI
encyclopedia.pub › entry › 29564
Void | Encyclopedia MDPI
October 18, 2022 - Cosmic voids are vast spaces between filaments (the largest-scale structures in the universe), which contain very few or no galaxies. The cosmological evolution of the void regions differs drastica...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/explainlikeimfive › eli5: what are voids in space, and how is it that (if so) there's nothing in them?
r/explainlikeimfive on Reddit: ELI5: What are voids in space, and how is it that (if so) there's nothing in them?
February 10, 2013 -

As the title asks, could you explain to me what voids in terms of astrophysics are, and how it's possible (if it is the case) that there's nothing in them, not even dark matter? What does this mean in terms of the universe on a whole?

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Voids are much, much bigger than galaxies. Galaxies tend to clump together into gravitationally-bound structures called groups or clusters (depending on how many galaxies are involved). A collection of nearby clusters is called a supercluster, and a formation of superclusters is called a filament. The name comes from the fact that it looks like a piece of string: galactic filaments are really, really long but not particularly wide. Voids are the enormous (mostly) empty spaces between filaments, and they exist because the early universe wasn't perfectly uniform. There's a bunch of high-end science-y stuff that comes along with this, but I'm out of practice. At any rate, here's a really cool video to help you visualize it.
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As I understand it, there is no law of the universe that requires space to be occupied by matter. of course if you bring everything down to a microscopic level, even the most dense solid has "voids" between each of its atoms. There should be no mistaken over-complication of how "empty" empty space really is. For example, air on earth can be correctly viewed as empty space with gas molecules diffused throughout. On a supermassive scale, it seems like the only reasons that a void would remain completely void of all matter, avoiding diffusion of gas from other filaments, are that 1. filaments have their own gravitational fields to retain their own matter, and 2. their gravity is nowhere near enough to cause distant masses to be attracted to them. And there you have a wide open space, a void. To be analogous, but certainly not accurate, it can be thought of as suspending 2 soccer balls near eachother. Their own matter remains bonded about their individual centers of mass, and the gravity of each ball is not enough to either attract the whole other ball or even parts of it to itself. The space between them can be analogized as a "void," because none of the matter of the balls is floating around in it due to each ball's bonds to its matter and the lack of gravitational force to cause these bonds to be broken. In your last question, i think you meant universe, but it doesn't change the answer. Both galaxies and the universe as a whole are mostly open space, devoid of matter.
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Sentinel Mission
sentinelmission.org › space › what-is-a-void-in-space
What Is a Void in Space? - Sentinel Mission
June 10, 2025 - Void in space exhibits distinct characteristics that set it apart from regions filled with matter and energy. One of the key characteristics of a void is its emptiness, meaning it lacks any significant amount of matter or particles.
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-difference-between-space-and-void-Can-we-say-space-is-a-simply-assumed-imagined-mapping-system-within-an-infinite-void
What is the difference between space and void? Can we say space is a simply assumed/imagined mapping system within an infinite void? - Quora
Void space means a space where is nothing is present nothing everything is empty. On the other hand normally the space that we refer to has object's and very little gases also unknown and known power.
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Space.com
space.com › astronomy
Listen to the Void: Why Cosmic Nothingness Has So Much to Say | Space
May 30, 2019 - But dark energy isn't very strong, so it's easily masked by the presence of pretty much anything else — matter, radiation, dirty socks in the corner, you name it. You don't get to experience dark energy, because your environment is too full of stuff. But the voids? They're empty. There's nothing there to compete with dark energy, which means these areas are exactly where dark energy gets to play its game.
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Oxford Reference
oxfordreference.com › display › 10.1093 › oi › authority.20110803120147699
Void - Oxford Reference
A region of space containing far fewer galaxies than average, or even no galaxies at all; also known as a cosmic void. Voids with less than one-tenth the average density of the Universe on scales of up to 200 million l.y. have been detected ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-are-space-voids
What are space voids? - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): Voids (space voids) are the places in space, where there is more or less, no galaxy/ star systems. The probability of finding an astronomical object in these space voids is very much less than that of other parts of universe.
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Fandom
terraforming.fandom.com › wiki › Space_Void
Space Void | Terraforming Wiki | Fandom
October 29, 2024 - A space void or cosmic void is a large place in space, containing only few or no galaxies and stars. Space voids can be up to 350 millions of light years wide. Matter in the Universe is condensed into large giant structures known as superclusters, ...
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SCIRP
scirp.org › home › journal of high energy physics, gravitation and cosmology › vol.8 no.2, april 2022 › the void and the multiverse
The Void and the Multiverse
March 10, 2022 - Discover the fascinating concept of the Void and its role in the creation of Universes. Explore the unique properties of Pure Energy and the significance of photons in this cosmic phenomenon. Uncover the intricate connection between dimensions and the role of Dark Energy in shaping our Universe.
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Fandom
alldimensions.fandom.com › wiki › Void
Void | All dimensions Wiki | Fandom
Voids are regions of space that contain either very little or no matter whatsoever. Sometimes, voids contain no matter that is deemed as important or elementary enough, whilst containing many other things.
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Popular Mechanics
popularmechanics.com › space › deep space › most of the universe is a void. here’s how that emptiness will eventually gobble up all of space
How Cosmic Voids Will One Day Turn Our Universe Into a Vast Expanse of Nothingness
June 6, 2023 - If you search hard enough you can find small, dim, dwarf galaxies scattered inside the voids, and of course there’s the ever-present thin soup of radiation and particles that flood the cosmos. But the voids are well and truly empty, deserted of any meaningful structure or concentration of matter.
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Scientific American
scientificamerican.com › article › how-analyzing-cosmic-nothing-might-explain-everything
How Analyzing Cosmic Nothing Might Explain Everything | Scientific American
December 16, 2024 - Computational astrophysicist Alice Pisani put on a virtual-­reality headset and stared out into the void—or rather a void, one of many large, empty spaces that pepper the cosmos. “It was absolutely amazing,” Pisani recalls. At first, hovering in the air in front of her was a jumble of shining dots, each representing a galaxy.
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Wartsila
wartsila.com › encyclopedia › term › void-space
Void space
An enclosed space in the cargo area external to a cargo tank, other than a hold space, ballast space, oil fuel tank, cargo pump-room, pump room, or any space in normal use by personnel, (IBC Code).
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COSMOS
astronomy.swin.edu.au › cosmos › G › galactic+voids
Galactic Voids | COSMOS
It is thought that as the matter built up around regions of higher density in the early Universe, matter was lost from the lower density regions – a process which lowered the densities in these regions even further. These low density regions are what we see today as voids.
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NYTimes
nytimes.com › 2024 › 11 › 03 › opinion › cosmic-void-universe-space.html
Opinion | Cosmic Voids in Space Taught Me to Find Meaning in Life - The New York Times
November 3, 2024 - Most of our universe is void — somewhere around 80 percent of the volume of the cosmos is made of nothing at all. By strict accounting of cosmic abundances, our planet and the life we find here amount to essentially zero.
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Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › void
Void - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
A void is empty space, nothingness, zero, zilch. A place that's void of all life forms has no sign of animals, plants, or people. You may recognize void from the Old Testament passage describing creation: "The earth was without form and void, ...
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Explorersweb
explorersweb.com › home › exploration mysteries: boötes void
Exploration Mysteries: Boötes Void » Explorersweb
October 27, 2023 - Then galaxies, stars, nebulae, ... low density between all these things. A void in space simply refers to a region in which there are very few galaxies....
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New Scientist
newscientist.com › article › mg26234870-100-we-live-in-a-cosmic-void-so-empty-that-it-breaks-the-laws-of-cosmology
We live in a cosmic void so empty that it breaks the laws of cosmology | New Scientist
April 19, 2024 - Astronomers call it the “local hole”, but that is quite the understatement. It is vast, gigantic, enormously huge – although, in truth, adjectives fail us when it comes to this expanse of nothingness. It is the largest cosmic void we know of, spanning 2 billion light years.