An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A sphere of radius ~ 10 Mpc centered on the → Local Group of galaxies. The Local Volume includes at least 500 known galaxies, many of which congregate in well-known groups like the Local Group, the relatively loose → Sculptor Group, and the more compact Centaurus A group. As of 2010, the latest catalog of LV galaxies was presented by Karachentsev et al. (2004, AJ 127, 2031). About 85% of the LV population are → dwarf galaxies which contribute to about 4% to the local optical luminosity density and roughly to 10-15% to the total H I mass density.

See also: → local; → volume.