Superstructure Over a Billion Light Years in Diameter Discovered in Space

Astronomers have discovered that nearly a third of all observed galaxies in the universe are grouped into five large-scale structures called galactic superclusters. In the scientists’ 3D map, one stands out for its record-breaking size: it spans more than a billion light years.

Our Milky Way galaxy, its neighbor Andromeda, the small Triangulum galaxy and their numerous satellite galaxies make up the so-called Local Group. It, in turn, is part of a large collection of diverse clusters and groups – the Virgo galactic supercluster.

Finally, the supercluster is located within a giant filamentary structure called Laniakea, which contains about 100,000 galaxies stretching 520 million light years across. So as we zoom in, we get a picture of how matter weaves the universe’s “cosmic web.”

Recently, astronomers from Germany, South Africa and Spain surveyed the large-scale structure of the Universe within a radius of approximately 400 to 800 million light years from Earth.

They counted a total of 345 galaxy clusters, which are combined into superclusters. Among these structures, the scientists decided to consider the largest ones: they studied those where at least 20 galaxy clusters form a single formation.

The result was a complete map of the large-scale structure of a fairly large part of the Universe. Astronomers noticed a filamentary formation with several branches, which contains 68 galaxy clusters and stretches for 1.3 billion light years. Its total mass is estimated to be 240 quadrillion solar masses.

The researchers emphasized that this supercluster turned out to be the largest of those known to date. They shared their observations in a paper available on the Cornell University preprint server.

The structure was symbolically named Quipu, in honor of the original method of writing and counting adopted by the Incas and some other ancient peoples: they wove woolen threads and tied knots in them in different ways to “write” and communicate some information with their help.

Scientists emphasized that many messages about how the Universe is structured are “encrypted” in the cosmic threads.

For example, they distort the so-called relic radiation – a very weak, residual electromagnetic “echo” of the Big Bang. It is spread throughout the Universe as a barely perceptible background, but is not entirely uniform.

According to astrophysicists, it can be affected by the gravity of large-scale structures: it lengthens the electromagnetic wave. And structures like Kip can also force light to change its trajectory – create the effect of a gravitational lens.