The Boötes Void (Шаблон:IPAc-enШаблон:Respell) (colloquially referred to as the Great Nothing)[1] is an approximately spherical region of space found in the vicinity of the constellation Boötes, containing very few galaxies, hence its name. With a radius of 62 megaparsecs (nearly 330 million light-years across), it is one of the largest voids in the visible universe, and is referred to as a supervoid.[2]
There are no major apparent inconsistencies between the existence of the Boötes Void and the Lambda-CDM model of cosmological evolution.[4]
The Boötes Void is theorized to have formed from the merger of smaller voids, much like the way in which soap bubbles coalesce to form larger bubbles.[5] This would account for the small number of galaxies that populate a roughly tube-shaped region running through the middle of the void.[6]
Confusion with Barnard 68
The Boötes Void has been often associated with images of Barnard 68,[7] a dark nebula that does not allow light to pass through; however, the images of Barnard 68 are much darker than those observed of the Boötes Void, as the nebula is much closer and there are fewer stars in front of it, as well as its being a physical mass that blocks light passing through.