The Local group motion towards Virgo and the microwave background.

The peculiar motion of the Local Group is determined from 15 clusters whose relative distances are known with minimum bias. The resulting local motion is 745±106 km s −1 towards l=273°, b=3°. This 7σ signal is in perfect statistical agreement with the motion inferred from the dipole of the cosmic microwave background. The median distance of 6400 km s −1 of the 15 clusters sets an upper limit to the comoving volume. - The three-dimensional peculiar motions of the clusters become 587 km s −1 , if allowance is made for a 5 percent error of the cluster distances. The value compares well with the 489 km s −1 motion of the Virgo complex with respect to the cosmic microwave background