Is the local supercluster a physical association

A quantitative measure of the degree of concentration of a sample of galaxies toward any great circle is described and applied to the Shapley-Ames and de Vaucouleurs catalogs of bright galaxies as well as to computer-simulated catalogs of galaxies. It is found that the observed distribution can be explained as the combined result of obscuration by our Galaxy, purely local clustering on angular scales of less than about 10 deg, and our proximity to a rather large and populous cluster, the Virgo cluster. In order for this interpretation to be correct, the Virgo cluster must have a mean angular radius of the order of or greater than 15 deg. This interpretation is supported by recent measurements which do not indicate any large inhomogeneities in the motions of nearby galaxy clusters and which show that the mean recessional velocity of the Virgo cluster is consistent with a uniform Hubble expansion. If the present interpretation is correct, it may be possible to determine the Hubble constant directly from measurements of individual distance indicators (such as H II regions and the brightest stars) with distance moduli less than about 32.