A Survey of the Bootes Void

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• Oemler, Augustus, Jr.
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• Schechter, Paul L.
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• Shectman, Stephen A.

Abstract

In an earlier paper the authors inferred the existence of a void in the distribution of galaxies in the constellation of Bootes. In this paper, a redshift survey undertaken to test that hypothesis is described. Galaxies were selected by eye from 283 small fields distributed between the three original fields, and redshifts were measured for 239 of them. The existence of a large, roughly spherical void, of radius 62 Mpc, centered at alpha = 14 h 50, delta = + 46 deg, v = 15,500 km/s is confirmed. The low density of this region is of high statistical significance and does not appear easily reconcilable with any of the popular models for the growth of structure in the universe. This void does contain some unusual galaxies characterized by strong, high-excitation emission spectra, but not in sufficient numbers to compensate for the absence of more usual objects.