The large-scale smoothness of the Universe

The Universe is inhomogeneous -- and essentially fractal -- on the scale of galaxies and clusters of galaxies, but most cosmologists believe that on larger scales it becomes isotropic and homogeneous: this is the 'cosmological principle'. This principle was first adopted when observational...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 397; no. 6716; pp. 225 - 230
Main Authors Wu, Kelvin K. S, Lahav, Ofer, Rees, Martin J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing 21.01.1999
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
Astronomy
Clusters
Cosmology
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Fractal analysis
Fractals
Galaxies
Galaxy groups, clusters, and superclusters. Large-scale structure of the universe
Homogeneity
Smoothness
Stars & galaxies
Stellar systems. Galactic and extragalactic objects and systems. The universe
Superclusters. Large-scale structure of the universe (including voids, pancakes, great wall, etc.)
Universe
Cosmological principle
Fractal dimension
Galaxies clustering
Homogeneity
Fractals
Large-scale structure
Cosmological models
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Summary:The Universe is inhomogeneous -- and essentially fractal -- on the scale of galaxies and clusters of galaxies, but most cosmologists believe that on larger scales it becomes isotropic and homogeneous: this is the 'cosmological principle'. This principle was first adopted when observational cosmology was in its infancy, and was then little more than a conjecture. The data now available offer a quantitative picture of the gradual transition from small-scale fractal behaviour to large-scale homogeneity.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/16637