A team of experts has made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of astronomy, unveiling the largest known galaxy superstructure dubbed “Quipu.” This colossal formation exceeds previous giants by orders of magnitude and provides fresh insights into how matter gathers and disperses across vast distances.
Led by Hans Böhringer from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), the research team used data from the ROSAT X-ray satellite to map a three-dimensional structure spanning 416 million light-years to 826 million light-years. This enormous superstructure contains 68 galaxy clusters, each with an estimated mass of about 2.4 × 10^17 solar masses.
Quipu’s size surpasses that of the Sloan Great Wall, the largest known cosmic structure previously measured at approximately 1.1 billion light-years. The researchers argue that this discovery challenges the cosmological principle, which suggests that if we look far enough, the universe should appear uniform in every direction.
While some experts question the validity of Quipu due to its vast scale and definition, the team’s findings highlight how these massive formations shape calculations of cosmic expansion rates and the properties of primordial radiation left over from the early universe. The discovery underscores the importance of ongoing surveys and technological advancements in gathering clearer data from remote regions.
This monumental finding serves as a reminder that patterns exist across multiple scales in the cosmos, affecting our interpretation of data on the universe’s origin and shaping the evolution of galaxies.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/largest-structure-in-universe-is-1-4-billion-light-years-long-quipu-superstructure