Largest Structure 13,000 Times Milky Way's Size Discovered: Study

Astronomers have made an extraordinary discovery, identifying what they believe to be the largest-known structure in the universe. Named "Quipu" after an ancient Incan counting system, this enormous superstructure stretches an astonishing 1.3 billion light-years across, making it over 13,000 times longer than our Milky Way galaxy.

Until now, the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall was thought to be the universe’s largest structure. Located 10 billion light-years from Earth, it spans a similar distance across. However, its existence has remained the subject of debate among scientists, which makes the discovery of Quipu even more significant.

The research team found Quipu while analyzing cosmic data and, in the process, identified four additional massive structures. Together, these five superclusters make up nearly half of all galaxy clusters, 30 percent of the observable galaxies, and a quarter of the matter present in the known universe. These findings were shared on ArXiv, a preprint platform for scientific papers, though they are yet to undergo formal peer review.

Superclusters are vast formations consisting of numerous galaxy clusters and individual galaxies that are often not gravitationally bound. Our Milky Way, for instance, lies on the outer edge of a supercluster called Laniakea. What makes Quipu particularly fascinating is its strong gravitational influence on neighboring galaxies, including the Local Group, which houses the Milky Way. The researchers noted that Quipu plays a key role in driving what they refer to as the "peculiar motion" of this group relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) frame.

Despite its current colossal size, Quipu won’t maintain its structure indefinitely. Scientists predict that it will eventually collapse and split into smaller, independent formations. They emphasized that these superstructures are "transient configurations" destined to break apart over time, but for now, they remain unique cosmic entities with distinct physical properties.

The discovery of Quipu has far-reaching implications. By studying a structure of this scale, astronomers hope to gain new insights into galaxy evolution and refine existing models of the universe's formation and behavior. Although much about Quipu remains to be uncovered, it stands as a remarkable testament to the universe's complexity and the ever-expanding boundaries of scientific exploration.

Feb. 8, 2025 {{ Blogdetails.schedule_date|time }} 484

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